Specter
by Tilthanial
Summary: Marvel Movieverse- Before the Avengers, SHIELD had other superhuman teams. One they blacklisted, erased, pretended it never existed. Despite everything they tried though, the echoes of SHIELD's Specters would never go away.
1. Pandora's Envelope

**Author's Note:**

This story is predominately based in the Movieverse. There may be slight character alterations, but only because I am not as steeped in Marvel-lore as I wish I was. I will try to make characters as true to their personalities as I can. Also, anyone that knows my writing knows that I am absolutely rubbish at finishing stories. Please keep that in mind as you read; I will try to pursue this one as long as I can, but I cannot guarantee that it will ever be officially 'finished.'

Finally, like some of my more recent work, this is a more mature version of Marvel reality. People will die, things will not be pretty at times. Kids should not read this.

* * *

Washington, _D.C.  
Morning_

Luke Kapra sat in the chair, staring at his opposite. On the man's left side, court martial papers and a dishonorable discharge. On his right, a stack of papers red-bound and mysterious. Pandora's Box. He did not know which set of papers was worse. He did not know if he even had a choice.

"Mister Kapra."

The man across the table cleared his throat and glared at him through his one good eye. Luke tried to ignore the eye patch, knowing that it would distract him. Some part of him wondered if the patch was merely for effect. Coupled with the man's ferocious scowl, it poised him as a terrifying and commanding force. Or maybe he had really lost the eye. The patch felt outdated though. Certainly there were better ways to cover or replace a lost eye.

He nodded in reply.

"Captain in the Green Berets, decorated for service in Bosnia and Afghanistan. You've got five years of military experience. Two Bronze Stars, three Purple Hearts, and a pending nomination for Silver." The man sighed. "And you're a goddamn mutant."

Luke took it without batting an eyelid. He looked from one stack to the other. "My being a mutant saved lives."

"Crime of existence" the man quipped. "It doesn't matter whether you've helped grandmothers cross the street or set nurseries on fire; your very existence is what causes the issue. Because, quite frankly Mister Kapra, I don't give a damn whether you're a mutant or an alien from Hell. Most of your men don't care either, judging by the letters of protest I received from them all and a shit-ton of your fellow Green Berets."

"Then what's the problem?"

He knew the answer. He just wanted to hear the man say it. This talk had all the designs to put him on the defense. They sat in an interrogation cell, the kind that most people saw in movies and assumed every government organization had. That wasn't so. He was in a specific building with a specific purpose. The room had nothing in it save the table, bolted to the floor, and the two chairs. A large wall-encompassing mirror sat on his right. There could be no one on the other side, or a host of officials. Its design appealed to creating nervousness in the interrogated. Make them afraid to lie in case someone across the mirror knew the truth. Luke had nothing to lie about though. He had no one to fear across the mirror; he had done nothing wrong. Yet he was on trial anyways.

"Because people are afraid of anything more powerful than they are. And a guy like you is much, much more powerful than they are. Hence the choice." He patted the court martial papers. "You can take these, remove yourself from the military and find some way to take care of yourself in the world. Or you can take these." He held up the other papers. A big old CONFIDENTIAL covered the front, and a red string held it together. Very classy, very secretive. Luke spent a moment studying the folder. He gained nothing from it except that there were a lot of papers inside.

"What's that?"

"We're calling it the Specter initiative."

"Specter?" Luke cocked his head ever so slightly to the side. "What does that stand for?"

"No acronyms this time," he said with a half-smile. "Just Specters. It's a SHIELD initiative. Mutants are a growing minority in the world, and that means they are a growing issue. SHIELD wants to get a step ahead of the curve and develop a team of mutants that can use their powers for the good of the world. In time, maybe that will help calm the uproar over mutants. But for now, it would be a secret team. A ghost outfit, if you will."

"And just what the hell does that mean, sir?" Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion. His blood boiled at the uncertain use of the term, and the condescending way the man said 'mutant.' He made it sound like a curse. "They want some freak show that they can dog and pony in front of Congress?"

"Easy, Chief." The man slid the papers across the table. "It'll be a Special Forces-style organization, just like your old unit. Just, this one will be comprised of mutants only. Team leader will be a mutant, team members will be mutants. A team of mutants, to protect against mutants."

"You want us to hunt our own?" Luke growled in his throat. He had not been a mutant for too long and had never been much for the whole controversy surrounding them. But that meant he would be deploying on American soil. His enemies would be American citizens. That, he had never been a fan of that. "What nutjob thought that would be a good idea?"

"Not hunting" the man clarified. "Protecting. Your enemies would be established terrorists and anarchists. You know of the X-Men?"

"Those people in New York, the mutants that fought at Ellis Island? I've heard of them." Luke nodded his head. "They're private though, and if I recall correctly, most of the government wouldn't mind locking them all up and throwing them in a bottomless pit. Why are they relevant?"

"That battled a terrorist named Magneto at Ellis Island" the man answered. "Mutants fighting mutants to protect mankind. The government may not like mutants, but we're not the government. SHIELD is independent of any nation. We see the value of people with superhuman powers, and we aren't afraid to take the talent wherever we can find it. Mutants are new, and they have an untapped source of power and responsibility. Your kind can be a great force for good in this world."

"And you want SHIELD to take that up?"

"Something like that." He gestured for Luke to unravel the string.

Luke opened the papers and started reading. Government funding, limited oversight by SHIELD officials, open recruitment, access to SHIELD technology and intelligence. It sounded good. It sounded too good. Nothing this good came for free. There was a catch, and he was pretty sure he knew what it would be. Selling his soul to the devil, that was something he had never had to face before. It was a prospect that did not sit well with him.

Before anything though, he had one question. The question that could easily decide whether or not he said yes without any other considerations. Who would be in charge? Would it be this man, or some bureaucratic official that was there solely to keep a leash on them? Or would it be a tried and tested leader with operational experience who knew how to handle a team like this. He had a hard time believing that an operation like this, with mutants being so controversial, could be granted any real freedom. It had to be a glass-cage deal.

"There are a lot of super organizations out there." Luke counted his fingers. "SHIELD, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and so on. Not to mention you probably have plenty of your own field agents. Why do you need this Specters team? What would we have to bring to the equation?"

"Because some bigwig though it was a good idea." The man chuckled quietly. "Hell if I know, Mister Kapra. I'm just the Director here, I don't know the minds of the Council. But they, and I agree, thought that organizing a team of mutants would be good for your kind."

"And they feel that it needs a mutant-counter-mutant organization? That sounds like a pretty slippery slope."

"Sure. Mutants are powerful beings" he said. "You bring something to the table because there are lots of you. Most heroes are isolated events. Captain America in the 1940s was from the lost Supersoldier Serum Project. The Hulk, gamma radiation. Iron Man, the… Tony Stark. The Fantastic Four flew into space and took a bath in cosmic radiation. Mutants, on the other hand, come in all shapes and sizes. And there are more every year. You have, collectively, every power imaginable under the sun, and then some. That kind of power can be used for great good or terrible evil. SHIELD wants to prove that you can be used for good."

"Ah, so the Specters are for a dog-and-pony show. Look at what the mutants can do when SHIELD trains them to be good. Classic." Luke tossed the file folder on the table in disgust.

"Hardly. The Specters can be a great argument for mutant rights."

That caught Luke's attention. He half-closed his eyes, adopting a disbelieving expression. He had yet to find a government program that could effectively do anything of the sort. Mutants had tried that for years now, and all they received was backlash. It didn't matter how many steps forward were taken; a single misstep through them back in the bog of mistrust.

"Think of it. The Fantastic Four gets more positive publicity than they deserve, and they aren't exactly normal people. The Specters can attain the same kind of reputation. A good reputation."

"And why is that so important." Luke shrugged. "The people that run SHIELD are all normal humans. Why does it matter to them?"

"Can you imagine the consequences of a war involving mutants?" The man pointed at Luke. "It would be apocalyptic if mutants went to war against humankind. No one knows how many mutants there are in the world, but there are hundreds that could unleash untold destructive power. I can name ten identified mutants off of the top of my head with the ability to lay more waste than a tactical nuclear warhead. It is in SHIELD's best interest to ensure this doesn't happen. We are a peacekeeping force, Mister Kapra. Mutant peace is one of the most important things on our schedule."

"So why don't you do something bigger about it? Go into politics, make laws, that kind of stuff."

"You know that wouldn't work." He chuckled darkly. "You can write laws all day long and they won't mean a thing unless the people follow them. To make this work you have to make the people want to follow them. That means we have to work on easing relationships between normal humans and mutants."

"Do you seriously think that would work?"

"We won't know unless we try. But we need someone to lead the team."

"And that would be…"

"You."

"Me, huh?" Luke held in his surprise. He had not expected that. "You want me to run this outfit."

"Yes. You're qualified. Five years running with the Green Berets, a great aptitude for leadership, and you have strong convictions. You are just the kind of man we need running the Specters. A military hero, born and bred in the heart of the Midwest. You're an All-American, Mister Kapra."

"Flattery doesn't work on me. Who would be looking over my shoulder?" Luke regretted speaking a moment later. He had just admitted interest. In the world of bargaining, he might as well have just shot himself in the foot. Now the other man had the initiative.

"Me." He extended his hand. "Let me introduce myself. Colonel Nick Fury, SHIELD Director."

"I've heard of you. You're an old war hero too. Though I thought you would be older." Luke relaxed. "Word is you're friendly with our kind. At least, you aren't hostile."

"That's the simple version of it. I work with Norse gods and giant green rage monsters. Mutants aren't that different."

Luke shut the file and took Fury's hand. "If you're running oversight, I think I'd feel comfortable. Sure beats a court martial. But I'm not a stool pigeon. If you put me in charge, I'm in charge. Don't give me a back seat driver who will question my work unless they are in the field with me."

"We were hoping you would say that." Fury took the court martial papers and ripped them in half. "Glad to have you on the team. We've already got you an executive officer."

"You picked an XO before you grabbed a commanding officer? Who agreed to take second string, one of your stoogies?" Luke paused. "Who is he?"

"He's a mutant like you" Fury said. "Kyle Saunders, former Marine. He joined SHIELD a few years ago after his enlistment ended. Been helping train new recruits, but when the Specter initiative was first started he requested a transfer in. Colloquially, he is known as Elf, though you might not want to call him that to his face."

"Elf?" Luke snorted. "A former Marine who wanders around with that kind of name? What's his deal and why didn't he want to have the command?"

Fury shrugged. "He's an NCO-type, been working with us for a while. Given his experience and yours, it's the best we could hope for to lead this team. When he signed on we offered him command. Flat out refused it, though he did agree to be the second-in-command."

"So I was your second choice?"

"Second in the world." Fury brushed it aside. "Think of it this way: his candidacy fell in our laps, but you are the first one we looked for."

"Remember what I said about flattery? Yeah, you just lost your bonus points."

Fury offered Luke a pen. Luke took it and signed his name on the dotted line. As the pen scrawled across the paper, he felt a great weight leave his shoulders. He also felt his gut begin to squirm. This was going to be one hell of an adventure.

"Right." He handed the folder back. "When do we get started?"

"Oh, you're going to like this." Director Fury stood and motioned for Luke to follow him out of the room. "We've already got you an operations center in the works."


	2. Home is where

_New York City, Manhattan  
Evening_

"This is your workplace, for now."

Fury gestured with one hand as they exited the elevator. Luke followed with his eyes, taking in the New York City high-rise apartment with a blank face. When Director Fury told him they already had a base of operations in the wraps, he had expected a room on the helicarrier, or some secret basement-structure in a low key warehouse in the middle of nowhere Bronx.

As far as bases went though, he liked this one. It was a little open, but his limited experience told him that no place was truly safe from superhumans. This place had the advantage of being overtly public with clear sightlines and approach vectors. At least he would have a good warning if someone attacked them.

And it had some nice, comfy perks. This was a high-rise in one of the richest locales in New York City. Just from his first glance, he could tell that he would enjoy the place. It could hold plenty of people comfortably. The place was only half-finished, with lots of cables hanging from walls and snaking in and out of floorboards. A small team of technicians scurried this way and that, working like ants.

"Sorry that it's not finished. We weren't even sure if we would need it."

"No, it's fine." Luke stepped over a protruding clump of wires. "I take it this place is rigged with topnotch equipment?"

"Of course. Spared little expense in getting it kitted out. If things come down to it, it can easily function as a permanent base, even though it's a little hipster for most tastes."

"Never thought I'd be called hipster" Luke muttered. He spotted a figure standing near one of the windows, half-hidden in the shades. This one wasn't working. "Who's that?"

"That is your second-in-command. Elf!'

The man turned slowly, his face remaining hidden. Luke saw a flicker of movement as his eyes flashed. Spooky effect, but lost on him. Taking the opportunity to study the man as they moved closer, he noted the relaxed but powerful build hidden beneath a suit jacket and jeans. Business casual; Luke found himself forming the impression that the man was not a stickler for formalities.

"The Captain said yes?" Elf's voice was strong but soft, and very confident. Luke wasn't sure if the man was doing it for effect or not. It sure didn't sound like a former senior Marine NCO. They liked to be loud and proud, so to speak. This one was cut from a different cast.

"Wouldn't be here if he hadn't. Come on out of the shadows, Elf. The sneaky effect doesn't fit you."

"Of course" Elf chuckled. He strode out of the shadows and approached with a startlingly quiet step. The man known as Elf, Kyle Saunders held out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you in person, Captain. I heard that SHIELD was looking for real talent on this job. Glad to see they are taking this gig seriously in recruiting."

"I don't know about that." Luke shook his hand. "Two people do not a team make."

"There'll be more coming" Fury assured him. "We've got some dossiers on potential recruits for you. They're in the control room. I'll show you to it once you are ready."

"We have a control room?" Luke fought the urge to grin. "Sure. Just give me a minute to check out the floor."

Luke paced about the main section, skimming through the kitchen area, the three marked room-areas, and the bathrooms. Most of the apartment was normal. It was livable, and functional. That was good. He didn't like excessive external kitting. When he finished his inspection, he returned to Fury. "After you, sir."

"Up the stairs."

Fury led them up to the second floor and through what looked like a lounge. He walked straight through to a door in the back, then palmed a space just to the side of the door. Something hummed behind the door, then it swung open on its own.

Inside the room was a bank of computers and chairs. Luke took it all in, holding his silence as Fury explained the room.

"There's normally a simple bathroom here." Fury stomped on the floor just inside the doorway. "When you clear the scanner the bathroom slides down. There's a hollow room just below, so no one would notice."

"Goody. What if you're on the pot and someone hits the scanner?"

Fury hesitated. He looked at Luke, then at the floor. A devilish grin overcame his face. "Bring some magazines. No, I'm kidding. When the room shifts down, a switch opens up behind the mirror at the sink. Hit that and it will bring you back up so you can leave. Oh, and it's got blast-proof walls, so it doubles as a panic room."

"Nifty." Luke slipped into one of the chairs at the computers and took a moment to study the board. It had a digital keyboard. He cracked his knuckles and typed in a few keys. The monitors turned on and a spinning SHIELD logo appeared on the screens.

Fury reached past him and hit a power button, shutting the system down. "The electrical support isn't fully operational yet. If you have this running for more than a few minutes as it is, you'll wipe out the building's power. Wait until we get the generator's hooked up."

"Sounds good to me." Luke turned, and found that the chair spun. "I like it."

"The dossiers." Fury tossed him a thick stacks of manila envelopes, tied together with twine. Old school. "Again, once the generators are online you can find this on the SHIELD database. You and everyone vetted on your time will have access to SHIELD's network, and a unique subnetwork for Specter."

"Very cloak and dagger of you" Luke replied. He set the majority of the stack down and opened the first file. "Looks like we're recruiting a little young."

"Not particularly. This kind of job doesn't require a Graduate degree." Fury took the top page from the file. "Neal Morris. Virginia Tech, Corps of Cadets. He's twenty-two, and has spent the past four years of his life prepping for a life in the military. I'd say he's the perfect balance of experience and moldability. You should be able to shape him right into Specter."

"Uh-huh…" Luke flipped through to the man's ROTC resume. "What's AFSOPT?"

"PT outfit." Kyle answered in a heartbeat. "He's in plenty good shape, if that's what you're wondering."

"Okay. Hm… a Navy guy. And it says he wanted to go Seals?"

"He did, until he failed a DoDMERB physical."

Luke set the file down and stared at Fury. "That's convenient."

"We had nothing to do with it. His mutation is all about controlling energies. If he's not using it, the power builds up inside him. If it has no release…"

"Stress?"

"Pretty much. He's been involved in several _accidents_. He needs an outlet, and you two can give him a good one." Fury turned around and headed towards the door. "Have fun collecting your team."

_Blacksburg, Virginia  
Afternoon_

Luke and Kyle stood in the meeting room, waiting for Cadet Neal Morris to enter. They had given the N-ROTC staff just enough time to scramble, then showed up without a clear picture of how they wanted to proceed. So they spent a good half hour walking the Upper Quad are, taking in the sights and getting a feel for the atmosphere. Better to get the feel for their person before they went and talked to him.

"You're looking a little uncomfortable in those ACU's. Haven't you been wearing those for a while now?"

Luke picked at his sleeve. "First, no. These aren't my ACUs, they're a lend from SHIELD and they are itchy. Second, we're about to talk to a Navy midshipman. As far as I'm concerned, I'm in the wrong uniform."

"I doubt he'll take it personally. Besides, it doesn't look like he has much of a choice."

"Could be. Hold up." Luke held up his hand. "I think I hear him outside. Take your place."

Kyle went to the side of the room and leaned up against the wall. Luke remained in one of the two seats at his side of the table. If Kyle wanted to remain there, that was fine. He expected Kyle to know his job.

Three knocks rapped on the door.

"Enter."

The door opened and a dark-skinned young man with a serious face strode in. Neal Morris strode in and came to attention at the edge of the table. He snapped to attention and threw a crisp salute.

"Good afternoon, sir. Midshipman Morris reporting as ordered."

"At ease, sit down." Luke pointed to the seat. The cadet dropped so quickly Luke almost thought he fell. "How're you doing, Mister Morris?"

"Doing well, sir."

"Good." Kyle pushed off the wall and sat down beside Luke. The cadet tracked his progress. "So… you're a mutant."

The cadet cringed, and his face blanched for a moment in panic. Luke kept his face calm, but he cursed inwardly. He had wanted just a little bit more tact in that revelation. Too late for that now. He switched straight into damage control.

"Don't worry, kid. You're not in any trouble. You were pinged as a mutant on a medical test" Luke explained. "Remember that finger prick on your DoDMERB?"

"Yes…" the cadet's eyes shifted between them. His eyes were wide and his breathing came a little harsh.

"Well, part of that results in a DNA swab. Have you heard of SHIELD?"

"They're a government program."

"Almost. They are actually international, don't answer to any specific government." Luke handed the cadet his dossier. "We're with SHIELD, the Specter initiative."

"I've never heard of you, sir."

"Because we just got formed." Luke passed him a second dossier. This one a specially prepared brief Fury had written up about Specter. "And because we're one of those super-secret organizations that no one hears about."

"And you want me?"

"Yes. You're a mutant, Mister Morris. The way things have been going, our kind don't have many career option with the military. I'm an example of that." Luke caught the young man's attention. "I'm sure scuttlebutt about Captain Kapra of the Green Berets has reached your campus."

"Yes sir." Morris's gaze faltered and he looked back at the papers.

"But you're still interested in serving your country, right? Your interview with the N-ROTC said your primary reason for joining was to serve."

"If I had a way, yes sir." He nodded earnestly.

"Well, you can serve with us." Kyle leaned back in his chair. "We'll fight bad guys, save the world, and I can promise you that our work will be plenty exciting."

"Will it sir?"

There was some hesitation in his voice. That was good. They did not want someone who didn't think of risks. An overeager kid would be starstruck; they would have to break someone like that down to the brass tacks before he could grow to be useful.

"Possibly. Our mission parameters are still being constructed. I cannot guarantee you exactly what we will be doing. But, as he said, we will be doing a lot of good work. SEAL kind of work."

The cadet stared at the wall behind them, eyes furrowed as he thought through the decision. Luke could almost see the cogs of his mind spinning behind his retinas. He absently glanced at the cadet's uniform. There wasn't any flair on it. No cord on the shoulder, no badges or ribbons decorating his breast. Interesting. He had seen other cadets wearing all kinds of medals and ribbons and things.

"You aren't one for bling?"

Refocusing his attention, the cadet suppressed a shrug. "I never saw too much point to it, sir. I'm in college. I get training here, but it's not real military. I have nothing worth showing off."

"Huh." Kyle shot Luke a sidelong glance. _I like this guy_ read clearly in his gaze.

"You don't have to answer us right away," Luke told the cadet. "If you want to think about it, we can give you 48 hours. Unfortunately, that's all I can offer."

"Can I finish my degree, sir?" He leaned forward a little, face growing tight with anxiety. "I mean, I know that if I join you my having a college degree won't matter so much. But it's only a month until finals and I would like to be able to have something to show for all the money my parents have put into this place."

Luke frowned. He sat back in his chair and considered the possibility. Certainly, they could not really pull off any real missions until they got a full team at least. The world was pretty quiet right now, relatively speaking. He did not foresee any immediate calls to action during the Specter's infant months. A month couldn't hurt…

Unless he could find a way to just get him the degree. Skip the last month and offer him an instant degree. Then he could leave immediately.

But there was another problem. Luke realized it and knew that he could not pull the young man just yet. This kid had spent four years here developing friendships. He could not force Mister Morris to give it all up on a 48-hour notice. In a month though, he could say his goodbyes and leave naturally, with every chance to find closure. It was the right thing to do.

"If you agree to join us," he made sure that Kyle agreed before he spoke. Kyle had reached the same conclusion, apparently. "Then we can hold off bringing you in until after graduation. Just don't do anything stupid between now and then. No one else here knows you're a mutant, I'm assuming."

Mister Morris nodded.

"Then keep it that way. If you are… _discovered_, we might have to snatch you away before a media circus gets started. No offense, but the military is trying to put on a no-mutant show right now. Having a mutant in a ROTC training program would make them lose face, and lose their tempers. They'd be liable to lash out somewhat, and you'd end up a scapegoat."

"Understood sir."

"Alright then, do you have any more questions?"

He hesitated, a shadow of indecision clouding his face. Luke waited for him to sort out the words.

"Sir, I've been having trouble controlling my…"

"Powers."

"Yes sir. It's getting harder to not let people see it. Just this morning I almost blew up my coffeemaker."

"Huh." Kyle shot Luke _that look_. "How often do you have trouble?"

"Just once or twice a day. I don't run into too many volatile- troublesome situations."

Kyle patted the table casually. Turning to Luke, he tipped his head towards the door. Luke nodded.

"Can you wait outside for a minute, Mister Morris?"

"Yes sir." He stood and saluted. Luke returned it and motioned for him to walk out of the room. When the door closed, Luke rubbed his temples.

"Are you thinking what I think you are thinking?"

"Depends. How rushed are we in assembling the team again?"

"Director Fury wants an operational team by summer."

"Which leaves us with plenty of time." Kyle leaned across the table and gathered up the cadet's files. "I could stay in the area until I help Kyle control his powers."

"And leave me high and dry looking for other volunteers?"

"Would that be a problem?"

"Only because we don't know each other that well." Luke held up his hands to placate Kyle. "Not that I'm saying I don't trust you. I know enough about SHIELD and Director Fury to know that he would only select strong and competent leaders. My concern is that we aren't on the same page yet. I've only known you for a week; that's not enough time for us to align our opinions on how this outfit should be run."

"True…" Kyle shrugged. "Then what shall we do? It's best that we give him some kind of control, or we might lose him."

"Then we both stay." Luke looked to the door. "Come back in Mister Morris."

When the cadet took entered and took his seat again, Luke motioned for Kyle to speak.

"Since you are having trouble controlling your powers," Kyle began. "We are offering our experience in the matter. We can help you learn to harness your powers during the last few weeks of the school year."

"Could you?"

"Yes, we could." Luke offered his hand. "We'll figure something out. Besides, I'd be interested in seeing what your Corps of Cadets has to offer. I've not gotten a good look at this place yet, but I already like it."

_Blacksburg, Virginia  
Morning_

They stood on Lane Stoop, watching the one-thousand strong Corps of Cadets file out of their dorms. 7:20 in the morning, and these kids were coming out to salute the flag. Luke liked that. He watched them fill in their formations, gather accountability, and fall in as the bugle started playing.

"Looks like a good day" Kyle remarked. He nodded up at the sky. It was bright and sunny, a good April morning. "Glad we were here to see it."

"Told you it would be worth leaving the hotel."

"Yep. Too bad we missed the sunrise though. Could have brought a tear." He nodded in the direction of the flag. "Wish I had known about this place when I was in college."

"You went to college?" Luke flashed a half-smile. "Would have never believed it."

"Well, you can believe this…" Kyle paused. He looked around as if searching for something. "Do you hear that?"

"What?" Luke kept his face blank. There had been birds chirping away in the background a few minutes ago. Now they were all silent. Probably just a normal thing, with all of the sudden bugling. "Are they telling you something?"

"Yeah. And it's not good."

"Define _not good._"

"The kind of _not good_ that should happen in the Big Apple, not in Southwest Virginia."

"Shit. Incoming baddie?"

"Maybe. Something's coming, that's for sure."

"How far out?"

"Minutes, maybe. Best get your game face on."

Luke sighed and cracked his knuckles. "The sun never sets on the righteous, eh?"

"Huh?"

"I have a feeling this is going to be what Specters will be like all the time. No light work; someone always has to spoil the party. We're in the middle of nowhere, Southwest Virginia and something bad happens to arrive at the same time. What are the odds?"

Kyle turned his head slightly as he examined the entrances to the Upper Quad. His gaze settled on the middle one. "Straight up the front door. Whoever this is, he's looking to make an entrance I'd wager."

"I heard that supervillains all come with a dash of theatre. What's the plan?"

"Hope I'm wrong. If not, try to pull him away to minimize collateral damage."

"What can you do, combat-wise?"

"Nothing fancy, if you're asking. Just- there he is."

Luke spotted him easily enough. There were only a couple of non-cadets around, and those were all professors moving briskly towards Lane Hall. This one was sauntering along, form hidden by a hoodie. It was in the mid-seventies. Definitely something wrong with that. "Any idea who he is?"

"Nope. Don't see him armed or anything."

"Well," Luke started forming his right hand into a familiar grip. "If he starts anything funny, I can put a bullet through his head before he knows we're even here."

The man reached the edge of the quad, just short of the flagpole. The head swiveled back and forth, taking in the sight. Luke tensed up his arm, thinking through the weapons in his arsenal. He could think of a couple that would work. The man took a step forward, but turned abruptly around and stalked away as the cadet commander started the announcement to dismiss the regiment. Apparently, he wasn't that much of a showman. He retreated a few feet, to the other side of the sidewalk, and stood waiting.

"Lucky break on that one. Keep your eyes sharp though."

As soon as the cadets received the dismissal and started clearing the quad, Luke and Kyle stepped down from the porch and headed for the man. Neal intercepted them on the way, oblivious to the hooded figure at the flagpole.

"Good morning."

"Hey, Neal." Luke absently waved to him. He shoved Kyle in Neal's direction and kept walking. The man in the hoodie was staring right at him. Not bothering to hide his intentions, he returned the man's gaze. Couldn't resist the challenge.

"What's going…"

He heard Kyle telling Neal something to get him to go away. Promised him lunch or something. Focusing on the man in the hoodie, Luke stopped a good twenty feet away. The man assumed a tall and loose stance, something that could easily explode into a violent one.

"You got business with someone here?" Luke studied the man and changed his mind. His hand shifted to a pistol grip. Better for this range. The hoodie man said nothing. He shrugged his hood back, revealing a face masked by a yellow, skull-fitting helmet with a bright green visor. He thought he saw a small pair of antenna rising from his skull. "I thought bees didn't get lost."

"You are not supposed to be here." The man shuffled forward, hands dug deep into the pockets of his hoodie. "Who are you?"

"Someone who's got a badge and a license to carry." Luke gave the man an icy smile. "And you have five seconds to declare who you are and get the hell out of here before I exercise my federal rights and remove you the old-fashioned way."

"A joker..." The man slowly withdrew his hands. His hands were badly misshapen, puffy and swollen like they belonged to a man a hundred pounds heavier. And his middle fingers looked a whole lot like stingers. Luke held in a snarl of disgust. Those would be painful. "You do not know what you meddle with."

"Enlighten me. What's the buzz, Bumbles?"

"Stinger." The man's antennae twitched. "Forces beyond your reckoning. Step away from the young one."

Luke turned back and looked over at Kyle. He had Neal occupied a fair distance away. No one was nearby, but he did see a couple cadets starting to leave their dorms to go to classes. "Can't do that, buddy. He's working for SHIELD now."

"SHIELD!" The man recoiled as if struck. His stance shifted straight into a defensive one, and his hands came up in a boxer's pose. "I _hate_ SHIELD!"

He leapt forward, arms outstretched like twin lances. Luke brought his hand up. His hand warmed and a 9mm Beretta melded perfectly into his grip. The silencer caused his aim to dip slightly, but he put a round straight into the man's chest. Something pinged and the bullet deflected into the concrete. He didn't have time to fire again, and dove to the side as the bee-man slashed past.

Dropping into a roll, he let the pistol fade and thought through a backup. By the time he found his feet he had another silenced rifle in his hands. Stinger continued on, feet leaving the ground. His hoodie ripped to shreds as he moved, revealing a set of wings on his back. Of course, he could fly. This guy was a genuine anamorphic bee. Even made the buzzing noise.

Luke took aim but held his fire, watching Stinger make a fast but wide turn around the middle of the quad. Kyle had thrown Neal to the ground and stood protectively over him, tracking the bad guy. Shooting Luke a quizzical glance, he eyed the rifle.

"What?"

"I'm fancy" Luke quipped. He rushed towards Kyle, keeping his rifle aimed at the flying bee-man. "Keep Neal safe. I'll take care of this guy."

Stinger changed course abruptly, diving straight for Kyle. Luke unloaded the rifle, watching round after round skip off of the man's armor. Stinger didn't flinch. Leveling his arms at Kyle like a jousting knight, he flew in. Kyle stood his ground, unafraid. His arms were aimed at the ground, fingers outstretched. Luke dropped the rifle and brought a baseball bat to bear. Better that than nothing.

When Stinger was only a couple feet away, Kyle dropped to a crouch. He grabbed grass in both hands and lurched forward to hit Stinger midair. A blast of wind rippled out, shoving Luke back a step as Kyle carried Stinger a dozen feet into the air before they fell to the ground. Landing lightly on his feet, Kyle snarled and grabbed Stinger by his leg. Swinging him around, Kyle hurled him into a nearby tree on the Quad. Woods splinters flew in every direction.

"Holy crap." Luke swung the bat around once experimentally and started to move in. Kyle got there first, scrambling so quickly on all fours that he might as well have been sprinting. Leaping onto Stinger's back, he tipped the man's head one way and his torso the other. He thought he saw some canines flash, and a spurt of blood, but then Stinger threw him over his shoulder and took to the air. It took him a moment to get to a good altitude. In that time Luke hurled a throwing knife and struck him in an unarmored leg. His shriek grated Luke's ears. "Kyle!"

"On it!"

Kyle scrambled up the tree and launched himself into the air. His hands were different, Luke noticed. More claw-like and avian. He grabbed a hold of Stinger's legs and carried him to the ground, dragging him with his weight. Luke dodged around the flailing mass, keeping clear of Stinger's dangerous hands. Waiting for an opportunity to strike, he held his ground and kept his bat at the side.

The opportunity came when Kyle kicked Stinger away and towards the center of the quad. Spinning into a full body swing, Luke smashed his vulnerable midsection. Pale amber sprayed in his wake, coating the sidewalk. Stinger did not get up.

"Well, that was a doozy." Kyle limped up beside him, holding his left arm close to his body. His elbow had taken on a purplish color and the veins were standing out on end. Luke started in alarm.

"He got you?"

"Yeah, but…" Kyle knelt down and put his hand in the grass. First his hand, then his arm, started to glow softly. The veins started to fade and the purple drained away. Within seconds there remained no traces of the poison. A little smile formed on his face and he showed it to Luke. "Nothing to worry about."

Luke grabbed his arm and turned it over. He whistled in astonishment. "What kind of poison was it?"

"Just a nerve buster." He rolled his shoulders. "It was starting to lock my arm up though."

They approached the downed mutant, circling to opposite sides in case he suddenly got back up. Neal rushed up behind them, eyes wide and breathing fast.

"What was… are you guys okay?"

"We're fine. Bumbles, on the other hand, isn't looking so hot right now." Luke kicked his arm. Stinger groaned but did not move. "Guess I don't need to pull out my can of Raid. You untouched, Mister Morris?"

"I'm fine. Why was he…" Neal paused. "Wait, did he come here for me?"

"Apparently we aren't the only ones who know you're a mutant."

"No kidding. What is he?"

"Anamorphic-type, I guess." Luke shrugged. "Wouldn't know myself."

"Should we get him out of here?" Neal looked around nervously. "There're people showing up. And the police too."

Luke listened to the sirens. "Clear out, kid. They don't have to know you were involved yet. If you walk away now, it'll look like you were just a bystander."

"But don't you guys need-"

Stinger rolled over suddenly. A chirping metal canister flew into the air. Luke swore and grabbed Neal. Throwing them to the ground, he tried to put his body over the cadet's before the grenade exploded.

He heard a deafening crack, but the noise changed into a dull thumping as quickly as it appeared. A small wave of heat struck his back, but just as quickly it cooled back to normal temperatures. Luke frowned and looked back over his shoulder.

"The hell?"

Some kind of force field had caught the explosion in a tightly packed bubble. Luke could pick out the fragments of the shell and fire swirling around inside the field. The grayish hue of the field made it hard to be sure. But he recognized enough of it to wonder. Kyle didn't seem to be in charge of it; he looked just as confused. Glancing back to Neal, he saw the cadet's face was scrunched up tightly in concentration.

"Neal? Neal, are you controlling that?"

He nodded weakly, still focusing on the ball. Lifting his hand, he pointed to the sky. A beam of light shot upwards, taking the fire with it. When the fire vacated the ball, it disappeared and the shrapnel pieces clattered to the ground. Quick as a flash Kyle had Stinger pinned, his arms tucked securely under his body.

Now people were definitely watching. The sirens seemed to be coming from everywhere now. Luke slowly walked over and pushed Neal's hand down. He did a quick check to see who was watching. Yep, they had seen it. Neal's secret was out.

Luke flipped his phone open and dialed in a number. The other end rang twice before picking up.

"This had better be good, Agent Kapra, because I'm right in the middle of something."

Luke heard gunfire in the background. He knew better than to keep Fury busy. "Transfer me to someone else then. Someone who's in on Specter."

The phone abruptly cut off onto a busy signal. Luke waited patiently until it picked up again. This voice was also brusque and impatient, but female. He didn't expect to know it.

"Agent Hill. Who is this?"

"Luke Kapra, Specter."

He heard an intake of breath. "Ah hell. What did you do?"

"Got a situation in Southwest Virginia. Unfamiliar mutant, and a mess of a publicity situation."

"Southwest… could you have picked a more remote spot?" She shouted something in the other direction. "Where?"

"Blacksburg, Virginia Tech."

"For the love of God! I can get a jet there in an hour. What's the situation?"

"Uh…" He saw a black van with familiar letters come screeching up the wide sidewalk behind Lane. "SWAT?"

"Hang tight. I'll see what I can do. For now, do what the police say. And for God's sake, don't cause a bigger mess than whatever you've already done."

"We'll try."

Luke hung up and gestured for Neal to back away from him. The van opened and fully armored police officers poured out. Luke hesitated only long enough to withdraw his identification before holding his hands over his head. He knelt down and braced himself. The SWAT officer tackled him anyway, and he found himself staring down the barrel of an M4 carbine. Men were shouting all over the place, he heard Kyle try to say something and have it drowned out by testosterone-laced yells.

If anything, the police were efficient. All four of them were handcuffed and tossed in cars within fifteen minutes. The whole time he had at least three gun barrels pointed at him.


	3. Recent Events

_New York City, Manhattan  
Early Afternoon_

Luke set the newspaper on the counter and looked over his shoulder. Director Fury had cancelled the meeting at the last minute, but he had agreed to send his second-in-command in his place. Agent Hill was supposed to be just as good as Fury. Maybe even better, when it came to administration. Luke was certainly looking forward to meeting her.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about how to break it to the press." Kyle sighed and slid into a seat. "Damn news jockeys have it plastered it all over the front page. Look at this crap. _Mutants Run Rampant at State University_."

Giving the headline a passing glance, Luke searched the cabinet for mugs. He poured them both full cups of coffee. Neal was still sleeping upstairs so he made sure to leave some in the pot.

"Yeah, Fury had said something about that. Reckless bravado or something to that extent."

"What did you tell him?"

"I pointed to the Liberty Island incident, that playboy billionaire Stark, and the Hulk, and the Silver Surfer thing, then told him it could have been worse. We kept the civilians out of the fire and contained the situation. That alone should have satisfied him."

"True enough. So who's this Hill chick?"

"Agent Hill? Fury's right hand. Don't know much more than that. Heard she puts the fear of God into people."

"Must be. She had the police chief pissing his pants. Never seen someone get out of jail that fast."

"But Stinger got away. You heard that, right?"

"What, that he nicked his guards and buzzed out? Yeah, I heard it." Kyle scowled. "Means we might meet him again."

"Maybe. I just want to know what this _Deck_ of his is. I hope it's not government too."

"Don't think so. For now it's safe to assume they're terrorist. But that's not our concern right now. What we need to figure out is what to do about Neal."

"The kid? Eh, he'll bounce back. He's young and flexible." Kyle motioned to the other stack of papers on the counter. The one with the manila envelope marked _Confidential_. "That our second case?"

"Yeah, he's in-town for a few days next week. Best bet is to contact him now before he goes away."

"Good. How soon are you thinking?"

"Not really thinking that far ahead right now. We've got enough on our hands as it is. I don't think that this is going to blow over too quickly."

"I'd be surprised if it did."

The door rang. They both looked over and stood up. Luke brought out a sidearm and moved to the door. Activating the voicepad, he stepped to the side of the door. "Who is it?"

"Hill. Now let me in."

He had only heard her voice that one time, but he remembered it easily enough. Luke motioned for Kyle to relax. Dismissing the weapon, he slid the door open and moved out of the way. Agent Hill stormed in, followed by a man in a suit that he had never seen before. They moved straight to the counter and did not bother sitting down.

"So, I've seen your report. Now I want it from you. What happened?"

"Well, the meet and greet went smoothly enough." Luke shrugged. "Then this Stinger-character showed up and picked a fight. Best we can figure, he was aiming for Neal Morris. Maybe he was trying to snatch him, maybe kill him. Either way, he was hostile and he attacked first."

"And your answer was to contain him by shooting up a Quad full of military-bound college kids."

"I only fired a couple shots." Luke walked around to the bar-side of the counter. "And we did our best to end it quickly and with as little fanfare as possible. Coffee?"

"No thanks." She dismissed the offer with a wave of her hand. "So who was this Stinger? Who'd he work for?"

"Not sure. You ever heard of something called the _Deck_?" Judging by the way her mouth quirked into a frown, no. Luke spared her the question and explained. "Stinger said something about an organization called the Deck. We hoped you would know something about it."

"I don't recalling seeing that one pop up before. Could be a new group." She let out a soft groan. "Lord knows we have enough of them right now. And there are more of them every year."

"Well, if we had the resources, I'd volunteer to look into it." Luke nodded to Kyle. "We're not exactly a science team, and now we've got a new kid on the block."

"Yes, about that." She looked to the suit, who pulled a folder out from under his jacket. Luke took it cautiously. "Since you had to pull him so abruptly, we're offering to put him through a training course. He can train with SHIELD recruits, or we can put him through an advanced training course alongside other superhumans. We've got a B-Team that could take him on for a little bit."

"Would it be dangerous?"

"Not as dangerous as being with you, I'd think. I think he'd rather enjoy it, to be honest. There's a new generation of kids coming up to bat, so he'd have company his age. The regimen would be something similar to what he saw at school. Nothing he couldn't handle."

"Sure. If he agrees." Luke flipped through the folder, noting key words and names. No one that he distrusted, then again he didn't recognize many. "I like the roster. That'll free us up to continue looking for more team members too. Speaking of which, think you can scrounge up some support for us? We could use some extra hands, if only for a little while."

"That depends." She paused and looked up. The bedroom door had opened. Neal must be awake. "What are you asking for?"

"Just a hands-on guy. Someone to run support for us in case we run into another engagement while we're still understrength."

"I can do you one better." She pointed at the suit. "We'll talk later."

"Thank you, Agent Hill."

"Please, call me Maria." Her mouth twitched in a ghost of a smile. "You two are department heads, technically. I don't mind allowing first names."

"In that case, thank you, Maria. We would appreciate any help."

"I can't get them to you instantly, but within the month expect to see a couple new bodies in the flat. Who knows, maybe we can find you a new base of operations."

"Huh, as long as we keep the flat." Luke ran his hand along the counter. "This is a nice flat."

Kyle whistled after the door closed. "That was about as rapid fire as I've ever seen a debrief."

"I get the feeling she's preoccupied right now." Luke slid onto one of the seats. "Didn't seem that interested in the whole ordeal. Is that good for us or bad?"

"Don't know, don't care." Kyle was already digging through the next dossier. "But ooh, daddy, I like this one."

"Who is he?" Luke spared a glance in his direction.

"A Yut-Yut like me." Kyle grinned. "I cannot wait until he gets in town."


	4. Two men walk into a bar

_New York  
Evening_

Luke stood outside the bar with his hat pulled low over his face. The traffic in and out of the place had kept quite steady for the most part, and he had little worry that he would miss the man on their dossier. Sam Payne. A Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, on leave in the Big Apple for a few weeks post-deployment. Should be pretty easy to spot. Luke had his eyes peeled for a high-and-tight and a bad farmer's tan.

Some creepy SHIELD surveillance had spotted out this bar as a likely place for him to appear. They took the dossier's word. This place was a popular spot for off-duty armed forces personnel. They had already seen plenty of sailors and soldiers in the crowd.

He was not sure he liked this part of the job, the watching. The last time he had watched for someone like this, he had been lying next to a sniper. It felt too predatory. He did not like the parallel.

"Easy, Chief." Kyle put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get too twitchy."

"I'm fine." He shrugged off the hand and started for the door. "Come on. We've been here for an hour. Might as well wait inside. Grab a beer while we're at it."

"Sounds fine by me."

The bouncer at the front did not bother checking their ID's. They still wore their dog-tags, and in a place like this those were golden tickets. Slipping into the front room, they cast about for a table. The one closest to the door wasn't taken. Good. They could watch the door easily that way.

The waitress came up and they ordered a round of drinks. Luke let Kyle order, gauging the man as he smiled at the waitress and ordered a dark lager without hesitation. Luke ordered something lighter, just to be safe. He could take more than a fair share of alcohol before getting drunk, but he wanted to be on top of his game tonight. He hoped Kyle was thinking the same.

"I'm not going to get drunk" Kyle assured him, noting the way that Luke was watching. "I've got a trick for drinking."

"Do you now?"

Kyle placed his hands on the table, palms up. "Get me into contact with one of those little trees outside and I can drain the alcohol into the tree. Alcohol gone."

"Huh." Luke tipped his head. "That's handy. Too bad there aren't any trees in here."

"There are on the street."

"Hmm…" Luke looked back to the door as it swung open. A cluster of sailors shuffled in, bouncing so eagerly on their feet that they had to have just rolled in. Luke looked back to his table and shook his head. "Seamen."

"Queens of the Sea" Kyle said. He chuckled softly, but the mirth vanished as their waitress returned with their drinks. "Cheers, Chief."

"Aye." Luke took a swig and started looking over the bar area. He saw no one that stood out, just a horde of military-types and their girls. A typical Friday night at a bar. "How's the kid doing?"

"Neal? He's doing just fine. Hill says he's taken a shining to the training."

"Wish we hadn't been forced to pull him early."

"Yeah." Kyle frowned and set his drink down a little too heavily. "That was crappy luck for him. Well, at least he can say he left school with a bang."

"And he definitely left an impression with his friends. I think he's a cadet they won't forget too quickly."

"But is that a good thing?" Kyle pulled out his dog-tags and started flipping them over and over. "My unit doesn't know that I am recovered. As far as they know, I'm at home in Iowa living with my older brother."

"Does he know?"

"Yeah, he knows." A shadow fluttered across his face. "We haven't spoken since."

"I'm sorry." Luke leaned back, shifting his chair so he could watch the door better. "How hard was it to break the news?"

"It wasn't. I thought he would be elated that I was able to walk again."

"But he wasn't?"

"Oh, he was." Kyle took another swig. "…until we were having an outdoor cookout and I grew a set of claws from playing with his Rottweiler too much. Then I was the _freak_, and I couldn't get out of his life fast enough. What about you? Did you lose anyone?"

"Just my unit." Luke offered a rueful smile. "They weren't too happy when I was given my discharge orders though."

"Family?"

"My parents didn't seem to mind much. Then again, they're living in a retirement home in Florida. Not much bothers them."

"You're lucky. Neal probably lost most his family."

"He told me his sister still tries to keep in touch. That's something, at least."

"Better than some get." Kyle pushed his drink away. "There goes my appetite."

"It'll come back to you."

They sat in silence for a minute, watching the door as subtly as they could. Luke had the better view, so he sat back in his seat and sipped at his beer. No one matching Sam Payne's description entered. The night was still young though. Luke had suffered through far worse stakeouts.

There were very few singles in the bar, Luke noted. Then again, as a military-serving bar, there were very few people that came in solo, and fewer that left alone. He only saw one person sitting alone. Off towards a corner, hunched over an empty stein as if she were dead. She wore a grey t-shirt, biker jacket, and denim jeans. Just fashionable enough to not be noticeable in the crowded bar.

She had been there since they had entered. In all the time Luke had been watching, she had not even looked up from her drink. A waitress had come by at one point, but she had shrugged off the offer of another drink. Unless she was a telepath, she was completely absorbed in the table.

Normally, he would not have been bothered by the presence of a loner at the bar. But this was the bar where he was supposed to find Sam Payne, and she happened to be here that night. The waitresses ignored her too much for her to be a regular. Which meant she was new, on this night of all nights. The coincidence made his skin tingle.

"Kyle."

"Yeah?"

Luke tilted his head in the brunette's direction. "See that woman over there?"

Kyle turned his head left and right, cracking his neck to hide the glance. "The loner?"

"She's been there for quite a while, not doing anything."

"Has she now?" Kyle checked the unease in Luke's eyes. "Think she's a problem?"

"I don't know. Hopefully not."

"There's an easy way to find out." He rose from his chair and stretched his legs. "I'm gonna take a walk, hit the bathroom. I'll try and sneak a peek while I walk over, see if I recognize her."

"Just don't take long."

"I'll be back before you know it."

Luke resisted the urge to turn and look as Kyle made his way to the back of the bar. Left with nothing to do, he drained his beer and signaled for the waitress. He ordered a second, stronger drink. Better to blend in a little more.

Only a minute or two later, Kyle returned with a grin on his face. The brunette took one of the empty seats at their table. Luke's eyes shifted over the woman in a bare instant, committing her face to memory. He didn't think it would be possible to forget her face, now that he could see it. Two things stood out so starkly that he had to look twice. She had the brightest, most intense green eyes he had ever seen. She wasn't scowling, but the drowning pain in her eyes made the hairs on his arms stand on end. This was a woman who had been through hell.

If her eyes weren't clue enough, the three parallel scars on the right side of her face were. They were straight, clean, but deep. Luke could tell by the color of the scars. A healthy, if that word could be applied, deep red. Not something that she could hide easily. Nor something she tried to hide. Her hair was tucked delicately behind her ears, leaving the scar visible to anyone close enough to look.

Brimming with questions, Luke forced himself to wait for Kyle to introduce her.

"Luke Kapra, this is Jeanne-Marie Beaubier. Jeanne, this is Luke." He fixed his attention on Luke. "Jeanne's former Alpha Flight."

"Alpha Flight?" Luke ran the name through his head. "That's Canadian, correct?"

"It is." Her voice rolled with a perfectly smooth French accent. Luke found himself distracted as he listened to her speak. She had a very pleasant voice. "I used to work for them. No longer though."

"Ah. What brings you to New York City, if I may ask?"

The briefest flicker of a smile graced her lips and her eyes flickered to Kyle. It lasted only long enough for Luke to notice. "You may. I am out of a job right now. I thought that I would travel America for some time, get to see some of the sights. The only time I have been in your country before was when we were fighting."

"How is America treating you?"

"Well enough." She glanced over at Kyle and a smile definitely reappeared on her face. "I had not thought to find an old friend in a bar such as this."

"One thing you have to learn about bars" Kyle told her. "Is that with our kind, no bar-trip is ever uneventful."

"Indeed. May I ask what are you two doing here? Are you regulars here?"

"We're looking for someone. We're…" Kyle glanced at Luke.

Luke thought about it for a moment. Alpha Flight had been a government organization. SHIELD was international, and had close ties with the Canadian government. If she was a former member of Alpha Flight, and if Kyle could vouch for her, he saw no reason in concealing their employer. Maybe not the Specter part of it, but certainly the SHIELD part.

"SHIELD," Luke finished. "We're working for SHIELD."

"Interesting." Jeanne cocked her head to the side and studied Kyle. "I never thought you would become a badge-carrier. You were always so…"

"Are you kidding? I love to flash my bling." Kyle pulled back his jacket, revealing the SHIELD badge on his belt. "And I heard that ladies love a man in uniform."

Jeanne made a noncommittal noise and looked back to Luke. Her eyes twinkled. "Some, maybe."

The doors to the bar opened, and Luke let himself drift out of the conversation. Jeanne and Kyle must have known each other for a while, because they fell into conversation so easily that he might as well have not been there. Vague snippets of conversation reached his ears. It was the usual banter, but he detected a faint edge in Kyle's voice. The thought stopped him cold for a moment. He snuck a look at Kyle. The man's hand was twitching at his side. Good Lord, he had the hots for this girl.

Then his attention wavered. In the middle of the crowd of Marines that staggered in came a towering giant. He was an extremely built man, the kind that had to walk awkwardly through doors because of the size of his arms. Luke could picture the man flipping a car over. Sam Payne.

Rapping the table once to get Kyle's attention, Luke pushed up from his seat and strode over to the bar. He watched Sam and his buddies make their way towards the back, aiming for the dart boards. If he could get Sam alone, before he got any serious alcohol in him, they could speak. If he started to get drunk, or if his buddies stuck close, it would be hard. Addressing a Marine in a military-catering bar was hard enough as it was. He had to find a good way to approach the subject with the Marine.

Kyle would have been able to do it better. As a former Marine, he could strike up a conversation with just about any of them without question. But Luke was Army. He wasn't _in_. Army and Marines got along well in general, but personally, at bars, they didn't always get along.

He decided to grab an open seat at the bar and wait for an opportunity. Looking in the direction of the table, he saw Kyle was still deeply engaged in conversation with the Canadian. Still, Kyle's head tipped in Luke's direction, and they matched eyes for a moment. Kyle was still alert. Distracted, but alert. That was better than he could have hoped for. The Canadian was certainly a big distraction.

The Marines started a game of darts. Luke checked his watch, then pulled out his phone. He punched in a number on his speed dial and waited for the other side to pick up.

"Hey Cuz."

Rachel's voice carried a hint of yawning in it. Luke stifled a grin.

"How are you doing, kid?"

"Well, Friday night so I was going to bed early; there's a Track Meet tomorrow. Then you called and woke me up. How do you think I am doing?"

"School going well?"

"Eh, I've got another two weeks." The irritation in her voice faded. "Right now I'm just trying to make it through to finals. What about you? Caught any bad guys recently?"

"No, I've been busy settling in with my new work."

"SHIELD, right? Have you met that guy who's in charge?"

"Fury?"

"Yeah!"

Luke put the phone down for a second and ordered a glass of water. The bartender gave him an odd look, but got it without a word.

"Yes, I've met him. He's a gruff guy, all growl and bite."

"Did you get his autograph?"

"No. It didn't come to mind when I spoke with him."

"Dang. Now I'm all jealous."

"Sure. Tell you what, come up to New York over the summer and I might be able to get you a personal interview. I'm sure you could write something up out of it too, get you one step closer to one of those blasted Ivy League schools you're always talking about."

"Really?" She squealed into the phone. "You're awesome, Cuz. I'd just have to…"

Her voice faded off in thought. Luke could feel her hesitation over the phone. "Rach?"

"Well, I don't think I could convince mom and dad to let me."

"Come to New York? I can't see why they wouldn't-"

"To visit you."

The speaker on his phone erupted in static as she huffed. Confused, he waited for her to continue.

"Dad doesn't want me to hang out with you anymore."

"Because I'm a mutant?" She didn't answer, but he knew it anyway. "I thought he was okay with that."

"He was, but the attack in New York scared him. That Magneto guy, the one who led the attack, he's a mutant too."

"He is." Luke ground his teeth together. His step-brother had never been a particularly bright guy. People like him were the reason why mutant-rights issues were so volatile. Little things could completely change their opinions overnight. "But he is not at all popular among mutants, or relevant. The government's got him locked up tighter than a can of spam."

"Yeah, I tried to tell him that. But he won't listen. He thinks that you might turn into a new Magneto. I think he believes all of us could turn into one of those kinds of guys. He… he hates us now."

"Does he know you are?"

"No." Her voice grew bitter. "I was working around to it, but since the New York incident I just don't think it would be a good idea. God, he's so stupid."

"Rach!"

"I know, I know, he's my dad. Look, I'll talk to them, maybe see if I can grab some friends and call it a road-trip or something. As soon as I find out, I'll let you know. But I've got to get to bed now. Got a paper on Masada due Monday and I've just barely started it."

"Talk to you later."

"G'night Cuz."

He hung up the phone and sighed. Despite his anger, he did not feel surprised by his step-brother's reaction. Magneto's attack hadn't done mutants any favors. Hell, that was probably one of the reasons why the military had been so fast to drop him once they had found out about his powers. At least that bastard was stuck behind plastic bars for life. There was no way he could possibly get out on his own.

"Tough day?"

Luke managed to not jump as a beer bottle slapped down beside his elbow. Their mutant Marine slid into the seat next to him and called the bartender over.

"Close enough." Luke slipped his phone back into his pocket. Offering a friendly nod, he ordered a beer alongside the man.

"I hear you. You know, they told me the Big Apple would be a fun place to go and relax. I've hated every minute of it."

"What, not a fan of Broadway?"

The Marine shook his head. "I'm a country guy. The buildings make me claustrophobic." He held out his hand. "I'm Sam."

"Luke." Luke shook his hand warmly. "What's your unit?"

"1st Division. Just got back from Iraq. Yours?"

"I'm retired."

The Marine fell silent for a moment. Luke felt the man's eyes crawling over his face.

"You're the Green Beret."

"Huh?"

"Captain Kapra."

Luke exhaled slowly, surprised. He knew his discovery had made a stir, but that much? Really?

"I'm assuming you're referring to the Army's most recent moment of negative publicity."

Sam's eyes lit up and he smiled knowingly. "You're the mutant then."

"So they tell me."

"How's that treating you?"

"What, being a mutant? Or losing my career over it?"

"Most people weren't happy when you got the boot." He offered Luke a broad smile. "Hell, I know we would have been willing to take you even with the fuss. Us Marine's aren't nearly as picky as the Hooah's."

Luke shrugged. "I've found that the market's not as hard as I thought it would be. Had a job offer before I even finished my papers."

"Really?" His face perked at that. "You found work as a mutant? What're you doing now?"

"SHIELD."

"What, secret operations or something?"

"Sort of." Luke handed the Marine his ID. "Specter. We're a mutant team, operating under SHIELD jurisdiction to counter _homosuperior_ terrorist threats."

"An anti-mutant strike force?"

"That's… a very broad term." Luke hesitated. Then again, he had that reaction too when Fury had described it. "A more accurate description would be that we operate on the same level as the Delta's, only with mutants. Response force only; no preemptive operations. Counter-terrorist-like."

"Like the Liberty Island thing?"

"Yes."

"So it was you tha-"

"We came along because of that. The X-Men took care of that problem."

"Ah." He nodded and looked ahead at the mirror on the bar. His face grew grim. "It's not a coincidence that you're in this bar, is it?"

Luke took a short breath, debating whether or not to answer. Of course, it was true, but he was not sure he wanted to phrase it like that. That would make it predatory. He could not imagine that going over well.

"We are scouting for talent. Our team's still in its building stage."

"How many?"

"Three."

"A three-man team?"

"We're aiming to recruit a full A-Team, maybe a few more."

"You'd deploy that many at a time?" He whistled through his teeth. "That's a hell of a lot of firepower, mutant or otherwise."

"We're thinking of limiting boots on the ground to four-person fireteams. More only if something extreme happens."

"Kit?"

Luke hid a smile. The Marine seemed to be genuinely interested. "Free armory, as long as collateral damage is kept to a minimum. You interested?"

"Could be. I've got a month until my enlistment ends."

"We also have great benefits."

"Does Specter stay homeland, or could I expect foreign deployments."

"Can't say for sure. Our kind of fights tend to show up and end within hours, so I don't see us being able to respond to many extra-continental threats, unless we grow to the point where we can deploy a secondary base or hitch a home with a SHIELD outpost."

The Marine hunched over the bar, lost in the mirror. For a long minute Luke sat there and waited for him to speak. After seeing that he was done talking, he slipped a business card across the bar.

"I'll give you some time to think it over. If you have any questions or come to a decision, call me?"

When he got no response Luke stood up and strode back over to the table. Kyle and the Canadian were engaged in some kind of deep discussion, but when Luke approached Kyle looked over at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"How'd it go?"

"He'll think about it. Got a month until his enlistment's over."

"Ah, paperwork." Kyle stretched his back. "Reminds me that we have some to go over ourselves when we get back to the loft."

"Yeah…" Luke cast the Canadian a wary glance. She held her hands up submissively.

"Don't worry, I know that feeling. I have my own life to take care of right now. Enjoy your night, Luke. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Luke waited until she had stood up before taking his seat again. "I'm glad I found Kyle a babysitter."

Kyle chuckled quietly and said something in French. She smiled coyly and slunk towards the door. Kyle's head turned to watch her as she left the bar.

"She's easy on the eyes" Luke told him, watching for a reaction. Kyle made a good show of not caring, but Luke could tell. Kyle liked her. He _really liked_ her.

"That was one crazy coincidence. Last time I saw her was in Canada when she was with the Weapon-X program."

"Yeah… crazy. Come on, Romeo. We've got no reason to hang around. Let's get back to the tower."

Kyle shook his head. "Heads up."

Sam was making his way over to them. Luke turned and eyed the man, curious. The Marine stopped an arm's length away and held out his hand.

"I'd like to hear more about Specter. Can we talk outside?"

_New York_

_Evening_

Luke stood outside the bar with his hat pulled low over his face. The traffic in and out of the place had kept quite steady for the most part, and he had little worry that he would miss the man on their dossier. Sam Payne. A Marine Corps Staff Sergeant, on leave in the Big Apple for a few weeks post-deployment. Should be pretty easy to spot. Luke had his eyes peeled for a high-and-tight and a bad farmer's tan.

Some creepy SHIELD surveillance had spotted out this bar as a likely place for him to appear. They took the dossier's word. This place was a popular spot for off-duty armed forces personnel. They had already seen plenty of sailors and soldiers in the crowd.

He was not sure he liked this part of the job, the watching. The last time he had watched for someone like this, he had been lying next to a sniper. It felt too predatory. He did not like the parallel.

"Easy, Chief." Kyle put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get too twitchy."

"I'm fine." He shrugged off the hand and started for the door. "Come on. We've been here for an hour. Might as well wait inside. Grab a beer while we're at it."

"Sounds fine by me."

The bouncer at the front did not bother checking their ID's. They still wore their dog-tags, and in a place like this those were golden tickets. Slipping into the front room, they cast about for a table. The one closest to the door wasn't taken. Good. They could watch the door easily that way.

The waitress came up and they ordered a round of drinks. Luke let Kyle order, gauging the man as he smiled at the waitress and ordered a dark lager without hesitation. Luke ordered something lighter, just to be safe. He could take more than a fair share of alcohol before getting drunk, but he wanted to be on top of his game tonight. He hoped Kyle was thinking the same.

"I'm not going to get drunk" Kyle assured him, noting the way that Luke was watching. "I've got a trick for drinking."

"Do you now?"

Kyle placed his hands on the table, palms up. "Get me into contact with one of those little trees outside and I can drain the alcohol into the tree. Alcohol gone."

"Huh." Luke tipped his head. "That's handy. Too bad there aren't any trees in here."

"There are on the street."

"Hmm…" Luke looked back to the door as it swung open. A cluster of sailors shuffled in, bouncing so eagerly on their feet that they had to have just rolled in. Luke looked back to his table and shook his head. "Seamen."

"Queens of the Sea" Kyle said. He chuckled softly, but the mirth vanished as their waitress returned with their drinks. "Cheers, Chief."

"Aye." Luke took a swig and started looking over the bar area. He saw no one that stood out, just a horde of military-types and their girls. A typical Friday night at a bar. "How's the kid doing?"

"Neal? He's doing just fine. Hill says he's taken a shining to the training."

"Wish we hadn't been forced to pull him early."

"Yeah." Kyle frowned and set his drink down a little too heavily. "That was crappy luck for him. Well, at least he can say he left school with a bang."

"And he definitely left an impression with his friends. I think he's a cadet they won't forget too quickly."

"But is that a good thing?" Kyle pulled out his dog-tags and started flipping them over and over. "My unit doesn't know that I am recovered. As far as they know, I'm at home in Iowa living with my older brother."

"Does he know?"

"Yeah, he knows." A shadow fluttered across his face. "We haven't spoken since."

"I'm sorry." Luke leaned back, shifting his chair so he could watch the door better. "How hard was it to break the news?"

"It wasn't. I thought he would be elated that I was able to walk again."

"But he wasn't?"

"Oh, he was." Kyle took another swig. "…until we were having an outdoor cookout and I grew a set of claws from playing with his Rottweiler too much. Then I was the _freak_, and I couldn't get out of his life fast enough. What about you? Did you lose anyone?"

"Just my unit." Luke offered a rueful smile. "They weren't too happy when I was given my discharge orders though."

"Family?"

"My parents didn't seem to mind much. Then again, they're living in a retirement home in Florida. Not much bothers them."

"You're lucky. Neal probably lost most his family."

"He told me his sister still tries to keep in touch. That's something, at least."

"Better than some get." Kyle pushed his drink away. "There goes my appetite."

"It'll come back to you."

They sat in silence for a minute, watching the door as subtly as they could. Luke had the better view, so he sat back in his seat and sipped at his beer. No one matching Sam Payne's description entered. The night was still young though. Luke had suffered through far worse stakeouts.

There were very few singles in the bar, Luke noted. Then again, as a military-serving bar, there were very few people that came in solo, and fewer that left alone. He only saw one person sitting alone. Off towards a corner, hunched over an empty stein as if she were dead. She wore a grey t-shirt, biker jacket, and denim jeans. Just fashionable enough to not be noticeable in the crowded bar.

She had been there since they had entered. In all the time Luke had been watching, she had not even looked up from her drink. A waitress had come by at one point, but she had shrugged off the offer of another drink. Unless she was a telepath, she was completely absorbed in the table.

Normally, he would not have been bothered by the presence of a loner at the bar. But this was the bar where he was supposed to find Sam Payne, and she happened to be here that night. The waitresses ignored her too much for her to be a regular. Which meant she was new, on this night of all nights. The coincidence made his skin tingle.

"Kyle."

"Yeah?"

Luke tilted his head in the brunette's direction. "See that woman over there?"

Kyle turned his head left and right, cracking his neck to hide the glance. "The loner?"

"She's been there for quite a while, not doing anything."

"Has she now?" Kyle checked the unease in Luke's eyes. "Think she's a problem?"

"I don't know. Hopefully not."

"There's an easy way to find out." He rose from his chair and stretched his legs. "I'm gonna take a walk, hit the bathroom. I'll try and sneak a peek while I walk over, see if I recognize her."

"Just don't take long."

"I'll be back before you know it."

Luke resisted the urge to turn and look as Kyle made his way to the back of the bar. Left with nothing to do, he drained his beer and signaled for the waitress. He ordered a second, stronger drink. Better to blend in a little more.

Only a minute or two later, Kyle returned with a grin on his face. The brunette took one of the empty seats at their table. Luke's eyes shifted over the woman in a bare instant, committing her face to memory. He didn't think it would be possible to forget her face, now that he could see it. Two things stood out so starkly that he had to look twice. She had the brightest, most intense green eyes he had ever seen. She wasn't scowling, but the drowning pain in her eyes made the hairs on his arms stand on end. This was a woman who had been through hell.

If her eyes weren't clue enough, the three parallel scars on the right side of her face were. They were straight, clean, but deep. Luke could tell by the color of the scars. A healthy, if that word could be applied, deep red. Not something that she could hide easily. Nor something she tried to hide. Her hair was tucked delicately behind her ears, leaving the scar visible to anyone close enough to look.

Brimming with questions, Luke forced himself to wait for Kyle to introduce her.

"Luke Kapra, this is Jeanne-Marie Beaubier. Jeanne, this is Luke." He fixed his attention on Luke. "Jeanne's former Alpha Flight."

"Alpha Flight?" Luke ran the name through his head. "That's Canadian, correct?"

"It is." Her voice rolled with a perfectly smooth French accent. Luke found himself distracted as he listened to her speak. She had a very pleasant voice. "I used to work for them. No longer though."

"Ah. What brings you to New York City, if I may ask?"

The briefest flicker of a smile graced her lips and her eyes flickered to Kyle. It lasted only long enough for Luke to notice. "You may. I am out of a job right now. I thought that I would travel America for some time, get to see some of the sights. The only time I have been in your country before was when we were fighting."

"How is America treating you?"

"Well enough." She glanced over at Kyle and a smile definitely reappeared on her face. "I had not thought to find an old friend in a bar such as this."

"One thing you have to learn about bars" Kyle told her. "Is that with our kind, no bar-trip is ever uneventful."

"Indeed. May I ask what are you two doing here? Are you regulars here?"

"We're looking for someone. We're…" Kyle glanced at Luke.

Luke thought about it for a moment. Alpha Flight had been a government organization. SHIELD was international, and had close ties with the Canadian government. If she was a former member of Alpha Flight, and if Kyle could vouch for her, he saw no reason in concealing their employer. Maybe not the Specter part of it, but certainly the SHIELD part.

"SHIELD," Luke finished. "We're working for SHIELD."

"Interesting." Jeanne cocked her head to the side and studied Kyle. "I never thought you would become a badge-carrier. You were always so…"

"Are you kidding? I love to flash my bling." Kyle pulled back his jacket, revealing the SHIELD badge on his belt. "And I heard that ladies love a man in uniform."

Jeanne made a noncommittal noise and looked back to Luke. Her eyes twinkled. "Some, maybe."

The doors to the bar opened, and Luke let himself drift out of the conversation. Jeanne and Kyle must have known each other for a while, because they fell into conversation so easily that he might as well have not been there. Vague snippets of conversation reached his ears. It was the usual banter, but he detected a faint edge in Kyle's voice. The thought stopped him cold for a moment. He snuck a look at Kyle. The man's hand was twitching at his side. Good Lord, he had the hots for this girl.

Then his attention wavered. In the middle of the crowd of Marines that staggered in came a towering giant. He was an extremely built man, the kind that had to walk awkwardly through doors because of the size of his arms. Luke could picture the man flipping a car over. Sam Payne.

Rapping the table once to get Kyle's attention, Luke pushed up from his seat and strode over to the bar. He watched Sam and his buddies make their way towards the back, aiming for the dart boards. If he could get Sam alone, before he got any serious alcohol in him, they could speak. If he started to get drunk, or if his buddies stuck close, it would be hard. Addressing a Marine in a military-catering bar was hard enough as it was. He had to find a good way to approach the subject with the Marine.

Kyle would have been able to do it better. As a former Marine, he could strike up a conversation with just about any of them without question. But Luke was Army. He wasn't _in_. Army and Marines got along well in general, but personally, at bars, they didn't always get along.

He decided to grab an open seat at the bar and wait for an opportunity. Looking in the direction of the table, he saw Kyle was still deeply engaged in conversation with the Canadian. Still, Kyle's head tipped in Luke's direction, and they matched eyes for a moment. Kyle was still alert. Distracted, but alert. That was better than he could have hoped for. The Canadian was certainly a big distraction.

The Marines started a game of darts. Luke checked his watch, then pulled out his phone. He punched in a number on his speed dial and waited for the other side to pick up.

"Hey Cuz."

Rachel's voice carried a hint of yawning in it. Luke stifled a grin.

"How are you doing, kid?"

"Well, Friday night so I was going to bed early; there's a Track Meet tomorrow. Then you called and woke me up. How do you think I am doing?"

"School going well?"

"Eh, I've got another two weeks." The irritation in her voice faded. "Right now I'm just trying to make it through to finals. What about you? Caught any bad guys recently?"

"No, I've been busy settling in with my new work."

"SHIELD, right? Have you met that guy who's in charge?"

"Fury?"

"Yeah!"

Luke put the phone down for a second and ordered a glass of water. The bartender gave him an odd look, but got it without a word.

"Yes, I've met him. He's a gruff guy, all growl and bite."

"Did you get his autograph?"

"No. It didn't come to mind when I spoke with him."

"Dang. Now I'm all jealous."

"Sure. Tell you what, come up to New York over the summer and I might be able to get you a personal interview. I'm sure you could write something up out of it too, get you one step closer to one of those blasted Ivy League schools you're always talking about."

"Really?" She squealed into the phone. "You're awesome, Cuz. I'd just have to…"

Her voice faded off in thought. Luke could feel her hesitation over the phone. "Rach?"

"Well, I don't think I could convince mom and dad to let me."

"Come to New York? I can't see why they wouldn't-"

"To visit you."

The speaker on his phone erupted in static as she huffed. Confused, he waited for her to continue.

"Dad doesn't want me to hang out with you anymore."

"Because I'm a mutant?" She didn't answer, but he knew it anyway. "I thought he was okay with that."

"He was, but the attack in New York scared him. That Magneto guy, the one who led the attack, he's a mutant too."

"He is." Luke ground his teeth together. His step-brother had never been a particularly bright guy. People like him were the reason why mutant-rights issues were so volatile. Little things could completely change their opinions overnight. "But he is not at all popular among mutants, or relevant. The government's got him locked up tighter than a can of spam."

"Yeah, I tried to tell him that. But he won't listen. He thinks that you might turn into a new Magneto. I think he believes all of us could turn into one of those kinds of guys. He… he hates us now."

"Does he know you are?"

"No." Her voice grew bitter. "I was working around to it, but since the New York incident I just don't think it would be a good idea. God, he's so stupid."

"Rach!"

"I know, I know, he's my dad. Look, I'll talk to them, maybe see if I can grab some friends and call it a road-trip or something. As soon as I find out, I'll let you know. But I've got to get to bed now. Got a paper on Masada due Monday and I've just barely started it."

"Talk to you later."

"G'night Cuz."

He hung up the phone and sighed. Despite his anger, he did not feel surprised by his step-brother's reaction. Magneto's attack hadn't done mutants any favors. Hell, that was probably one of the reasons why the military had been so fast to drop him once they had found out about his powers. At least that bastard was stuck behind plastic bars for life. There was no way he could possibly get out on his own.

"Tough day?"

Luke managed to not jump as a beer bottle slapped down beside his elbow. Their mutant Marine slid into the seat next to him and called the bartender over.

"Close enough." Luke slipped his phone back into his pocket. Offering a friendly nod, he ordered a beer alongside the man.

"I hear you. You know, they told me the Big Apple would be a fun place to go and relax. I've hated every minute of it."

"What, not a fan of Broadway?"

The Marine shook his head. "I'm a country guy. The buildings make me claustrophobic." He held out his hand. "I'm Sam."

"Luke." Luke shook his hand warmly. "What's your unit?"

"1st Division. Just got back from Iraq. Yours?"

"I'm retired."

The Marine fell silent for a moment. Luke felt the man's eyes crawling over his face.

"You're the Green Beret."

"Huh?"

"Captain Kapra."

Luke exhaled slowly, surprised. He knew his discovery had made a stir, but that much? Really?

"I'm assuming you're referring to the Army's most recent moment of negative publicity."

Sam's eyes lit up and he smiled knowingly. "You're the mutant then."

"So they tell me."

"How's that treating you?"

"What, being a mutant? Or losing my career over it?"

"Most people weren't happy when you got the boot." He offered Luke a broad smile. "Hell, I know we would have been willing to take you even with the fuss. Us Marine's aren't nearly as picky as the Hooah's."

Luke shrugged. "I've found that the market's not as hard as I thought it would be. Had a job offer before I even finished my papers."

"Really?" His face perked at that. "You found work as a mutant? What're you doing now?"

"SHIELD."

"What, secret operations or something?"

"Sort of." Luke handed the Marine his ID. "Specter. We're a mutant team, operating under SHIELD jurisdiction to counter _homosuperior_ terrorist threats."

"An anti-mutant strike force?"

"That's… a very broad term." Luke hesitated. Then again, he had that reaction too when Fury had described it. "A more accurate description would be that we operate on the same level as the Delta's, only with mutants. Response force only; no preemptive operations. Counter-terrorist-like."

"Like the Liberty Island thing?"

"Yes."

"So it was you tha-"

"We came along because of that. The X-Men took care of that problem."

"Ah." He nodded and looked ahead at the mirror on the bar. His face grew grim. "It's not a coincidence that you're in this bar, is it?"

Luke took a short breath, debating whether or not to answer. Of course, it was true, but he was not sure he wanted to phrase it like that. That would make it predatory. He could not imagine that going over well.

"We are scouting for talent. Our team's still in its building stage."

"How many?"

"Three."

"A three-man team?"

"We're aiming to recruit a full A-Team, maybe a few more."

"You'd deploy that many at a time?" He whistled through his teeth. "That's a hell of a lot of firepower, mutant or otherwise."

"We're thinking of limiting boots on the ground to four-person fireteams. More only if something extreme happens."

"Kit?"

Luke hid a smile. The Marine seemed to be genuinely interested. "Free armory, as long as collateral damage is kept to a minimum. You interested?"

"Could be. I've got a month until my enlistment ends."

"We also have great benefits."

"Does Specter stay homeland, or could I expect foreign deployments."

"Can't say for sure. Our kind of fights tend to show up and end within hours, so I don't see us being able to respond to many extra-continental threats, unless we grow to the point where we can deploy a secondary base or hitch a home with a SHIELD outpost."

The Marine hunched over the bar, lost in the mirror. For a long minute Luke sat there and waited for him to speak. After seeing that he was done talking, he slipped a business card across the bar.

"I'll give you some time to think it over. If you have any questions or come to a decision, call me?"

When he got no response Luke stood up and strode back over to the table. Kyle and the Canadian were engaged in some kind of deep discussion, but when Luke approached Kyle looked over at him and cocked an eyebrow.

"How'd it go?"

"He'll think about it. Got a month until his enlistment's over."

"Ah, paperwork." Kyle stretched his back. "Reminds me that we have some to go over ourselves when we get back to the loft."

"Yeah…" Luke cast the Canadian a wary glance. She held her hands up submissively.

"Don't worry, I know that feeling. I have my own life to take care of right now. Enjoy your night, Luke. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"Likewise." Luke waited until she had stood up before taking his seat again. "I'm glad I found Kyle a babysitter."

Kyle chuckled quietly and said something in French. She smiled coyly and slunk towards the door. Kyle's head turned to watch her as she left the bar.

"She's easy on the eyes" Luke told him, watching for a reaction. Kyle made a good show of not caring, but Luke could tell. Kyle liked her. He _really liked_ her.

"That was one crazy coincidence. Last time I saw her was in Canada when she was with the Weapon-X program."

"Yeah… crazy. Come on, Romeo. We've got no reason to hang around. Let's get back to the tower."

Kyle shook his head. "Heads up."

Sam was making his way over to them. Luke turned and eyed the man, curious. The Marine stopped an arm's length away and held out his hand.

"I'd like to hear more about Specter. Can we talk outside?"


	5. First Circuitry

_New York City  
Evening_

They went up the side stairwell, heading for the roof. It was a chilly night for April. They huddled in their jackets. Once there, Sam stopped and crossed his arms.

"What do you want to know?"

Kyle had agreed to let Luke take the lead, since he had not been involved in the previous conversation. For now he stood by the edge, leaning over the railing and staring out at the city. Sam paid some attention to him, but mostly he looked at Luke.

"You said Specter is a SHIELD organization, right?"

"Yeah."

The Marine grimaced. "That means we'd be working for the UN, not the US. "

"Yes," Luke nodded in acknowledgement. "But indirectly only. From what I've heard, the UN has a mainly advisory role in SHIELD operations, and only a specific council interacts with SHIELD. Director Fury runs the day-to-day operations and most of the smaller teams, like Specter, are free to operate on their own. Specter is to be a Black Ops unit, so they will hardly know we even exist."

"But we'd still answer to the UN."

"More or less." Luke shrugged. "So far we haven't had to deal with them."

"Huh." Sam walked over to stand next to Kyle. He looked Kyle over for a moment. "What's your story?"

"3rd Division," Kyle answered. "Rifle platoon."

Luke heard the slight intake of breath. The Marine looked back at Luke, then at Kyle. That spark of interest had returned, and was growing. "Is this organization only prior-military?"

"Not necessarily." Offering a shrug, Luke joined them at the railing. They looked out at the streets, watching the cars go by. "Easiest guys to find are the ones in the military though. DODMERB led us to you and another guy. But our recruiting is open-ended. We might end up with a couple non-military types, can't say for sure."

"I wouldn't mind working alongside fellow soldiers." Sam's mouth cracked into a little smile. "I think I'll take the offer. Gotta wait for my enlistment to out though."

"Good." Kyle shook his hand. "Glad to have you aboard."

"Makes us four." Luke reached into his jacket pocket and produced a trio of cigars. He had never seen a soldier pass one up. "Smoke?"

"Who's the third guy?" Sam took the cigar and waited for Luke to pass a match. "Former military as well?"

"Sort of. We picked up a Virginia Tech student, a senior in the Corps of Cadets they have down there. He was in the Navy program, going SEALs until his mutation got red-flagged."

"I've seen some LT's from there." He nodded to himself. "Good kid?"

"He's got talent, that's for sure."

"Good with a gun?"

"Don't know yet. He hasn't had to use it. I can tell you he's going to be great in a firefight though. He can control explosions and redirect them."

The conversation fell off as police sirens began to echo through the streets. They spent a moment pinpointing the direction. Central Park, growing louder. Nothing unusual about that, except…

"Think that one of those superheroes will be around to save the day?" Sam pulled a five dollar bill out of his wallet. "Spiderman."

"Eh, why not?" Kyle matched it. "Fantastic Four."

"Which one?"

"Any of them."

Luke ignored the pointed looks they shot him. He casually held out his hands and summoned a set of binoculars. It took him a moment to spot the far off police cars as they made their way through traffic in their direction. Somewhat closer were a handful of things in the air. "Spiderman. Coming up on 14th. Hot on the tail of… something."

It didn't take long for the pursuit to come into full view. They all recognized the TV-famous swinging motion of New York City's favorite hero. Four figures darted this way and that, rocketing around him on jetpacks. They were shooting at him, but did not appear to be focused on him. They did not concentrate on the web-swinging hero, they merely fended him off like an obnoxious gnat. Their shots seemed to be directed alongside the rooftops. Luke tried to follow where the shots landed, but the bar was lower than most of the other buildings on the street. Whatever was up there was out of sight.

He considered the possibility. Spiderman was fighting the fliers; the fliers were trying to kill something. Enemy of my enemy is my friend. Spiderman was the good guy, he could only be helping someone out. There was another reason to get involved too. Luke gauged the direction of the runner by placing the robot's shots. Whoever was taking fire was coming in their direction.

Ditching the binoculars for a high caliber sniper rifle, Luke knelt down and settled the weapon against the railing. Sam muttered something beside him in surprise at the appearance of the weapon. Luke felt a pat on his shoulder as Kyle shifted into place beside him.

"I take it you want to lend Spiderman a hand? I mean, I'm all helping him out, but Spiderman doesn't strike me as the kind of guy that needs backup."

"He's trying to protect something, I think." Luke shrugged, taking care to not throw off his aim. He started tracking the figures. They were not human. Robotic maybe. That would not surprise him. Superhuman bad guys seemed to have a fetish for robots. "We might as well give him a hand since we're here. It would be downright unneighborly not to."

"Works for me. Got a spare?"

"You wish" Luke muttered. He took his eye off the scope and tipped his head to the side. "Colt in my jacket. Take it." A hand slipped into his jacket and fumbled for his sidearm. Kyle inspected the magazine before racking the slide. He offered an apology to Sam.

"Engage?"

"Hold your fire for now. I'll see if I can draw some attention away from Spiderman. When you shoot, make sure you hit the robot and not something else."

Putting his eye back to the sight, Luke zeroed in on one of the robot assailants. Luke waited until the attacker flew into a spot where he did not fear a ricochet causing collateral damage. He gave the trigger a smooth pull, absorbing the snapping recoil, and watched the robot's shoulder explode in sparks. The machine careened towards the road, crashing into the pavement before it could recover.

That left three for the swinging hero. If Spiderman took note of the sudden shot, he did not show it, but he did make a sudden aggressive swing that landed him on one of the robot's backs. It wobbled unsteadily as it compensated for his weight, still firing at the rooftop. Neither of the other robots returned fire.

"Those things are really on to something." Sam shifted behind them. "And it's coming our way."

Luke tried to take a second shot, but they were too close and darting about too quickly for him to draw a good bead. Letting the rifle go, he switched to a close range weapon and retreated from the edge. Kyle and Sam followed, giving a little space so that they were not clumped together. Sam cracked his knuckles in anticipation. Luke admired his courage. Taking on robots with machineguns with your bare hands took a lot of balls.

The pursued on the roofer reached the building next to theirs. It was only a story taller, and they could see the glow of bullets sparking against the roof from where they stood. Luke's stomach clenched in the faintest hint of nervousness. The robots would be firing into their position in a few moments. Any second now they would see him, or her.

One of the robots suddenly swooped in over the building, passing directly over them as it sought to hit the incomer head-on. Luke and Kyle fired into its belly, but the torso armor deflected the shots. Luke pivoted as it flashed past, trying to call to mind a more powerful short range weapon. Then it disappeared over the edge.

A second later a black-clad figure leapt off the roof, hurtling towards them like a human missile. Letting go of the weapon, Luke rushed forward and caught her before she slammed into the ground. His vision swam as he fell into a roll, ending up on his back with a face pressed into his shoulder. The robot came spitting down after her, hands outstretched with a glowing fist. Its flight halted abruptly when Sam caught it in midair. The legs kicked forward, propelled by the jetpack, and it flailed helplessly. His muscles bulged and he hurled it backwards. Luke watched it flip end over end before crashing through the wall on the building next to them.

The woman in his arms shoved off and staggered to her feet. Luke rolled to the side, dodging an energy blast. By the time he came up on his knee, Kyle had put himself in front of them and opened fire with Luke's sidearm. The robot whipped past, but it didn't fire. Circling around, it landed on the far side of the roof from them. Then it stood there, waiting. Its hands began to glow.

Luke didn't hesitate. Summoning the sniper rifle again, he aimed dead center on the robot and fired. The shot sent the robot stumbling backwards with a smoking crater in its chest. Before it could regain its balance Sam charged it from the side and slammed it into the ground. They heard mechanical whines as he ripped its head straight off and tossed it to the side. Silence fell on the roof.

"Damn." Kyle checked the count on the pistol and handed it back to Luke. "Can't catch a quiet night. You alright, ma'am?"

They turned to the woman. She had backed away to the edge, eyeing them warily. Something about her struck Luke as dangerous. There were no visible weapons on her, but the way she wore her tight-fitting catsuit let him see the finely-toned muscle in her arms and legs. Those were the muscles of an athlete, not a gym-goer. He suspected she was trained. Add in the close-slung pack on her back and she must have been some kind of… he wasn't exactly sure what. She did not look hostile, but he didn't think she adhered to the "enemy of my enemy" concept too well.

He didn't believe in the "damsel in distress" cliché either. Her gloved hands ended in what looked like clawed fingers. Not natural claws, but built in, metal ones. A thick head of silky white hair was plastered to her forehead from sweat, and he face was half-hidden by a simple black mask. Good Lord, she had a killer figure.

"I'm fine." She spoke slowly and kept her body turned so that she could see all of them. "Now, I'd love to know the name of my rescuers, and how they happen to carry military-grade weapons in the middle of New York City. It isn't polite to leave a girl with questions, you know."

Luke took a step forward. "I'm Lu-"

The robot Sam had thrown into the building returned, blasting out of the hole with both hands firing. Luke rushed forward, grabbing the woman by the arm and throwing her to out of the way. Both blasts struck him in the chest. Pain stabbed through his body and his feet left the ground. He hit the ground a good ten feet away from where he had been standing.

From his back he couldn't tell who got to the robot first, Sam or Spiderman. Swooping down like a hawk, Spiderman landed on the robot's back and sent it skidding. Sam caught them both, snapping both arms off of the robot. Spiderman finished it off by putting his foot through the thing's neck.

Luke choked out a breath, patting down his ribs. His shirt hadn't been damaged by the blast, but his entire torso had gone numb. Some kind of stunning blast. Great. He staggered to his feet and found something to lean on. The others, he saw, had set about securing the remains. Spiderman shouldered past them and approached him, holding out a hand.

"Nice reflexes buddy, but I don't think that playing catch is a good idea with these guys."

Accepting the handshake, Luke straightened up as best he could.

"Thanks for the advice. Next time I'll stick to shooting it."

"A much better plan."

"So…" Luke limped over to the armless robot and turned it over. It was a simple construct, as far as diabolical robotic soldiers went. The visible technology looked comparatively simple to what he had been expecting. "You're Spiderman?"

"The one and only." A spurt of webbing struck the robot's head, sticking it to the ground. "And you are?"

"Luke Kapra, SHIELD agent."

"Ugh."

Luke glanced up. "I take it you're not a fan."

"Not really. I don't like government watchdogs." Despite not being able to read his face because of the mask, Luke had the impression that Spiderman had a deep frown on. Maybe even a disgusted sneer. He carried his voice well to make up for the lack of readable facial expression.

"Well, I can't blame you for that." Looking away, he took in the others. Kyle and Sam were crowded around the other fallen robot. Sam must have pulled the chest plate off, because Kyle was wrists-deep in wires. The woman was still standing off to herself, watching them all but making no move to come closer. "You okay?"

"What, Felicia?" Spiderman sidled past and held out his hand to the woman, palm up. She glared at him, but pulled something out of her pack and handed it over. "She's faced a lot worse than some drones. Ain't that right, Fe?"

"As I said before" she cleared her throat and pointedly refastened her pack's drawstring. "I'm fine. Thanks for the catch, Agent Kapra."

"Anytime."

He shut his mouth as she walked over to him. Her suit's zipper had come down a bit, and Luke found it hard to not stare. Not at the cleavage that showed, although… but at the glossy finish to the suit. It could have come out of a bondage fetish. Normally that kind of outfit, leather stuff, turned him off immediately. But she wore her suit like a Victoria's Secret model. Better, even. He averted his eyes as she stopped a few feet away.

"So… SHIELD's fumbling around in my city again." She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side, staring at his badge. "What are you agents up to?"

"Well, we were enjoying a night off…" He shrugged. "Sitting around on the roof talking, but then you two and the tin cans showed up. What was that about?"

"A poorly-timed heist." She shook her head and ran a hand through her hair. "These things broke into a subsidiary branch of Stark Industries. Luckily for Tony Stark, I happened to be in the neighborhood and reacquired the device before they could whisk it away into the night."

"And then I swooped in to save you," Spiderman added. He held up one of the loose robot arms. "Think this will look good on my trophy wall?"

"Aren't these a little low-end for your playing field?" Luke gestured to the rest of the machine. "I'd call these small potatoes for the crap you've had to deal with."

"Eh, but one can never have too many robot arms. I mean, people have hobbies, right? Why can't mine be collecting robot arms?"

"Oh, by all means." Felicia rolled her eyes. "See how your precious little redhead likes that."

Luke excused himself and joined his partner. Kyle waved absently at his approach.

"Luke, we should call this in and have a squad come pick at least one of these up. I'm not sure how new the tech would be for SHIELD, but it would be nice to start our own collection, don't you think?"

"Could be. But we don't have any dedicated technicians or scientists." Luke took a step back and watched Kyle tinker. "Anything useful from a passing rummage?"

"Nothing that I can make heads of out here." Kyle sighed and stood up. "Looks interesting though. Makes me wish I had pursued a science career."

"Uh-huh." Luke turned back to the others. "Hey, Spiderman…"

Spiderman and Felicia had disappeared. Luke stared at the place where they had been, thinking. They had a lot of adjusting to do. He pulled out his cellphone and punched in the number that had quickly reached his speed dial.

"Hill. Yeah, I need a tech team at 14th and South Lane. Got some robo-tech for the goggles to look over. Half an hour? Got it."

Kyle was grinning when he hung up. "She pissed again?"

"No. I think SHIELD is tapped into NYPD. She seemed to have expected the call."

"Did she now?" Kyle sighed quietly. "You know, I think I could get used to this. Sam?"

"I've never pulled the arms off of a robot before" the Marine said, staring at the robot bodies with a disbelieving frown. "Damn, this is my first robot kill. The guys downstairs will never believe this."

"They could if you showed them this." Luke tossed him one of the robot heads. It was man-sized, though it weighed about twenty pounds due to the metal and circuitry. Sam caught it as if it weighed nothing. "Come on, the sirens are getting closer. Time to go brag that you just helped out Spiderman."

"I don't know if I should." He tossed the head in the air. Kyle winked at him.

"Dude, chicks love a dude with a robot head."

Sam Payne stared at the robot's head. Its eye sockets had gone dark, one of them cracked down the middle. After a long moment he looked up at Luke and Kyle.

"Why not? Come on, I'll buy you a drink. It's the least I could do for you guys bringing me up here."

"We're going to stay up here" Luke said. "Make sure the remains aren't disturbed until SHIELD gets here. Thanks for the offer though."

"Well then, see you later." He grinned. "If this is life with the Specters, count me in."


	6. Heard it on the Grapevine

_New York City, Manhattan  
Morning_

Luke spent a moment staring at the ceiling. Breathing still didn't come easily. He figured it would be another day or so before the stunning blast fully faded. In the meantime, he had to figure out how to get the paperwork going to transfer Sam over to SHIELD once his Marine enlistment ended. Which was fine. They weren't expecting him for a while. These was no reason to rush and stress out over it.

But now they were back to two. They had a message waiting for them when they had returned. Some agent named Danvers had sent them a short message with the usual request for a debrief after their skirmish over the bar. She had also complimented Neal on his proficiency and eagerness to learn and work with the B-team. For now though, his probationary commitment remained at one month. It was better than he could have hoped since the initial estimate was through the end of summer, but that meant they had another month of being on their own. Director Fury hadn't passed them any new bios. They had to do their own research now. And without any tech support or familiarization with the SHIELD network, it would be straight grunt work. He did not have the faintest clue where to start on recruiting.

He hoped Agent Hill hurried up with the personnel transfer. While he understood the basics of the SHIELD network, he was by no means an expert. Neither was Kyle. The kind of searching they would need to do took too much technical knowhow and fine-tuned combing. What kind of mutants were they looking for? How would they know which ones to pursue and which to leave alone?

Things could have been worse. Luke idly lifted his hand and watched the sunlight on the ceiling run through his fingers. He loved the bed. It was just the right amount of soft, large enough for him to fully stretch out, and very warm. Getting out of bed after long nights took effort.

But he found a reason to get up. Judging by the smell wafting up from the main floor, Kyle was already in and cooking. Freak. Luke wondered if Kyle even needed to sleep. Maybe he could use his plant-restoring energy to keep himself running _ad infinitum_. That line of thought lasted just long enough until he pinpointed what Kyle was cooking. Kyle was not a hippie, nature-loving person, despite his powers. For a mutant whose power came from nature, he was a huge fan of bacon. He cooked it perfectly too.

Sliding out of bed, he pulled on a pre-laid set of clothes and got ready for the day. There was another way to find potential recruits. He opened his cellphone and brought up his contacts list. A light by his door flashed as Kyle activated the room pager.

"I'm up" Luke reported. "About to make a call. I'll be down in a minute."

"Got it. I fried up some bacon and eggs if you want some."

"I'll take that offer."

Luke turned the pager off and found the right number. It rang twice before picking up.

"You're up early." Rachel yawned into the phone. "It's gotta be… ugh. 6AM on Saturday? What the heck?"

"Sorry." Luke checked his watch. He thought it had been later. "How's the project going along?"

"Great!" Her voice perked noticeably. "My news-crawler got a hit."

"Already?"

"Well… it's kind of making news on its own."

Luke heard some scrambling as she turned on her computer. Then some muttering as she dug through what sounded like paper.

"Who?"

"There's some vigilantism going down in Louisiana. Got some New Orleans trouble if you're interested."

"Mutant?"

"No idea. Could be." She gasped. "Wait, are you asking to find a mission? Because this person looks like a good guy. She's kicking some serious mob ass down there."

"It's a she?"

"Well, I'd like to think it's a girl. Why can't it be some superpowered chick that kicks ass every now and then?" She chuckled softly. "But this vigilante is wreaking some serious havoc on the Mob and all that nastiness, that's for sure. Please, please don't be looking for a mission. You'd be going after the wrong gal. She's on the good side!"

"We're not looking for a hunting trip" Luke promised. "No, I'm still looking to recruit."

"Oh. That's good. Well then, she's been hitting their drug shipments, by the reports. The first one came when she set a warehouse on fire…"

She started rattling off locations and dates faster than Luke could keep up. Rushing downstairs, Luke grabbed the first notepad he could find and began copying everything down. When she finally slowed down and came to an end he sat back and examined the incidents. Eight in all. He was sure that if he pinned them to a map he could find a pattern. Rachel confirmed that suspicion.

"I'm sending all of the relevant information to your old email address. Hope it helps. Now, do you have any last questions?"

"None yet. I'll let you know if anything comes up."

"Okay, Cuz. Now if you don't mind, I'm going back to bed. I've got two hours until I have to get up for the Track. If you call me again I swear I will set you on fire."

He got the solid tone before he could argue. She deserved the rest though, so he didn't call her back. Instead he brought the notepad to the counter and slid it over to Kyle.

"Got us a potential."

Kyle looked away from the frying pan long enough to give the notepad a once-over. "Huh, New Orleans? That's a bit of a ride."

"SHIELD should be able to spare a jet. Or a helicopter. Or something."

"That'd be grand of them, but somehow I think we will be stuck with the old-fashioned drive." Kyle shifted the pan over and tossed Luke a pancake. He caught it barehanded and wolfed it down. "When do we head out?"

"What do you think? Give us a couple days to rest? Maybe check SHIELD contacts and see what we can drag up about this vigilante."

"Nah." Kyle drained his coffee. "I'm feeling restless. Better to go now, while nothing's up."

"Says the man who didn't take a shot to the chest last night."

"Says the man who was smart enough to not jump in front of it" Kyle retorted. "Besides, you'd be sitting down for hours; that would give you plenty of time to rest."

"Alright." Luke thought about it then agreed. "Kit out in the armory. We'll head out in an hour. You're taking the first round of driving though."

"I'll get on that right after I finish here."

Someone knocked. Kyle froze for a moment, then resumed ministering to his food. He jerked his head towards the door.

"That's probably the SHIELD techs that Hill said she'd give us."

"They must be some kind of morning people then." Luke slid out of the chair and approached the door. Luke kept out of the way and let it open.

The suit that had accompanied Hill in their previous encounter strode in, eyes hidden by a set of designer sunglasses. His head swiveled across the room, taking in both of them, and he nodded to Luke. Luke wasn't watching him. Standing to the side, Luke drank in the sight of the other member of the party.

He wasn't quite sure if she was human. She stalked in with a dancer's grace, clawed paws clicking on the hardwood floor. From claw to ears she was covered in soft white fur and black stripes. Her face appeared quite human, but for pointed ears and sharp teeth that teased out from behind her dark lips. Cat's eyes returned his gaze, batting lazily. A thick tail swished behind her, curling around a lamppost before releasing and resuming a restless dance. Her poise reminded him of a predator on the hunt. She stalked rather than walked.

And she was equipped for it to. She wore a sturdy navy jumpsuit cut off at the calf and short sleeves that showed off well-muscled limbs. The SHIELD logo was printed proudly over her breast. The hilt of a foreign bladed weapon stuck out over one shoulder and she wore some kind of laser pistol on her hip. Her right hand's claws tapped along the holster in rhythm. He could not guess the tune.

"Agent Kapra, Saunders." The suit held out his hand. "Marti Callahan. I'm your tech support. This is Sahara. She's a Shi'ar representative attached the SHIELD. Here at personal request."

"A pleasure." Luke barely paid Marti a glance. Sahara's gaze remained fixed on him, irises narrowed to near-invisible slits. He could see them flicking up and down, studying him. His skin crawled at the feeling of being graded. "So you're an alien."

"In your own crude terms." Her voice flowed like waves on the sea shore, but with a touch of feline purr. She finally looked over to Kyle, who shifted slightly in his chair, and began studying him. "Where I come from you are considered little more than primordial apes."

Luke took the comment without flinching. "Point taken. Luke Kapra, agent in charge."

"Sahara." Her lips curled up a hairsbreadth, enough to let two gleaming canines show. "As an ambassador for the Shi'ar Empire I will do my utmost to do my people honor. I am willing to lend aid and experience to your team."

"Is this a temporary assignment?" Luke glanced at Marti. The agent had removed his shades and taken the seat next to Kyle. He shrugged and gestured to Sahara.

"It is the lady's choice."

"Ah." Luke nodded. "Glad to have you aboard… Sahara."

Her head cocked to the side when she finished observing Kyle. Returning her gaze to Luke, she allowed a vicious smile. "You find my name curious?"

"Well, Sahara sounds a little normal. I figured it would have been something a little more foreign and exotic."

She purred and started towards the counter. "I see. My real name is-"

The flow of sounds that followed made no sense to Luke. What did make sense, and rocked him back on his heels, was the sudden scent that struck him. Powerful, silent, arousing and utterly alien. He blinked a few times in shock, fighting to clear his head. The scent made his breathing come a little quicker and his palms sweat.

Sahara slid into the remaining counter chair and crossed one leg delicately over the other. Marti and Kyle flinched away from her, eyes unfocused as they stared. Luke shook his head to drown out the remainder of the scent. Even as it faded away, he found himself struggling to comprehend just how and what that was. He had never felt something like that before. It left him startled and entirely off his game.

"I think I'll stick with Sahara."

She offered a gracious nod. "Many of your kind have found that simpler."

"So" Marti caught Luke's attention and produced a folder from his jacket. "I'm up to date on your electronic systems and we've been briefed on the current situation with your recruiting. What's on the menu?"

"New Orleans." Luke tore his gaze away from Sahara and strode around to the far side of the counter. He slid the notepad over. Marti took it without question. "Grapevine says there's a potential working solo in the Big Easy."

Marti didn't look up from the notes. "Interesting. Scribbled notes, but detailed. Rough times and dates say amateur but informed sources. Depression of the pen and stroke indicate your were writing quickly, dictated I assume." He set the pad down. "You didn't use SHIELD network for this. Where'd you get it?"

"Grapevine" Luke repeated, his voice frosty. Pushing past the question before Marti could dwell on it he jerked his thumb towards the stairs. "Armory's upstairs. We're heading out in an hour. If that's too fast, we can push back."

"Not a fan of settling in then?" Marti waved absently. "I'm not a big road trip guy, so I hope you don't mind that I'll be staying behind. Get the system familiar with me and all that. I should have the SHIELD network up and running by the time you hit Virginia. While you're in the swamps I can coordinate and provide by-minute information as well as satellite imaging and tactical updates." He paused. "That is, assuming you are fine with me using your flat while you're out."

Luke shrugged. "You've been here before. Don't rifle through my clothes and replace anything you take out of the fridge."

"Not real-time?" Kyle gave a mock sigh. "I guess we'll have to settle for that. Luke, I'm going to kit up. Want me to save anything."

"I travel light." Luke held out a hand to demonstrate. He brought to mind his M4 from his Army time and it slid into his grip. Giving the newcomers a moment to inspect it, he ejected the magazine and tossed Marti a bullet. Then, removing his focus, he enjoyed the surprised look on the man's face as the rifle, magazine and bullet vanished. Marti did not appear utterly surprised, no doubt he had read Luke's file, but he still had that look of intrigue that told Luke he had not been expecting it. Sahara did not appear so easily impressed.

"Elemental transmutation" she stated, one brow raised delicately. "Interesting."

"Something like that. I'm still not exactly sure how I do it." Luke examined his hand, a frown on his face. "Haven't been a mutant long enough to fully understand how the blasted thing works."

"If you are curious" Sahara beckoned with one claw. "I can run some scans with Shi'ar equipment. It should be able to tell you how your mutation works. Although, my mind would be that you transfuse your essence to materialize the things which you know. This weapon of yours, you have used it before?"

"I have."

"You are intimate with it?"

"I… am."

She nodded confidently. "Then it would be so. That is a talent of use. Be wary of your powers; do not overtax yourself."

"Eh, doesn't matter." Luke stuffed his hand in his pocket. "Just as long as it works, right?"

He started for the stairs but stopped at the bottom. Turning back suddenly, he eyed the new teammates. "Are you two going to be living here, or do you have your own places?"

"I've got a flat" Marti stated. "Not too far from here, actually."

Sahara looked from Marti to Luke. "I had quarters on the Helicarrier. But that is no longer relevant."

Luke stared at her. She blinked and turned to Marti. "Relevant? That is correct, yes?"

"Reliable might fit the situation better" Marti advised. Sahara mulled over the word, nodded, and returned her gaze to Luke.

"My quarters on the Helicarrier are no longer reliable, Agent Kapra. I apologize for the confusion. The nuances of your common tongue still confuse me."

"Happens to all of us." Luke gestured to the couch. "We've only got two bedrooms and the couch. I don't mind taking the couch until we figure something out for you. Marti, while we're out send a line and see if SHIELD has anything in the works for her. If not, we'll go apartment shopping when we get back. And make sure to let Agent Hill know that we will charge anything and everything to the budget."

Marti snickered. Sahara smiled graciously and said something in her own language. A warm scent of approval touched him. Luke was grateful to find this one not as overpowering as the last one. Taking it in stride, he mounted the steps up and joined Kyle in the armory. Kyle shot him a knowing look as the door closed.

"Someone's got a cat fetish" he muttered. Luke scowled and pushed past him to the mannequins. The life-size models bore combat armor, utility harnesses, and civilian-appropriate gear. Luke took his time looking through them, finally deciding on a set of light armored rigging that could fit under a heavy jacket.

"Said the pot to the kettle."

Kyle laughed and held up a UMP submachine gun. He made a show of racking the slide and inspecting the firing chamber. The note rang beautifully throughout the armory.

"What can I say, it's the ears. Pointy ears are hot."

"…and might be able to pick up this conversation" Luke growled. He shook his head at the weapon and pointed past Kyle to a hunting rifle. "Tranquilizers, Kyle. It's hard to recruit the dead."

Kyle put the UMP back with a grunt and turned to inspect the rifle. "Shi'ar then. Aren't they some kind of huge intergalactic empire? What the hell is a special agent of the galactic UN doing with small fries like us?"

"No idea. You've been around this longer than I have."

Kyle set the hunting rifle on the table and cast about for a tranq box. "Galatcic UN. I like that, think I might trademark it. Rulers of a thousand worlds or some nonsense like that. There had been rumors back before I joined the Specters that we had made contact and they had established an embassy within SHIELD. Apparently it's true, but it has to be one of the best kept secrets on the planet."

"That would mean Sahara has got to be one of their best." Luke found a bandolier for grenades and started stocking tear gas and other non-lethal devices. "So, your creepy fetish aside, she's probably some kickass commando type. Those weapons she carries don't look like toys." He paused as a thought struck him. "That means we're up on a pedestal, doesn't it? Not only will SHIELD be watching us, but we've got the eyes of a whole intergalactic empire observing what we do."

"Sounds right." Kyle offered a cheerful grin. He waved a box of tranqs. "No pressure, Chief."

Luke didn't respond. He took the box, selected a tranquilizer, and held it out in front of him. studying it with the intensity of a gem dealer, he took in its shape, its weight, and the texture of the casing. Then, focusing the object into his mind, he produced an identical copy in his other hand. Kyle whistled his approval.

"You're a quick learner."

"Somewhat." Luke winced as he held the dart. "It hurts."

"But it gets easier over time?"

Luke sighed. He looked back at Kyle and changed the topic.

"Just don't get any funny ideas around Sahara. Watch what you say around her; she might not get your humor the same way I do."

"Me, funny ideas?" Kyle slipped the hunting rifle around his shoulder. Replacing the original dart into the box, he slid it into a duffel bag. "I'm taken, Chief. You've got nothing to worry about from me."

"Taken?" Luke released the copy dart and gave Kyle his full attention. "When did that happen?"

"Recently." Kyle turned and tossed Luke a loaded cartridge. Luke caught it and inspected the payload. Lighter than the human-standard one that Luke had already produced. Luke made this one too. A dull throbbing tickled at the back of this throat. "Which leads us back to you. What was that I heard about her sleeping here? As I recall, we only have two bedrooms. But that's so close and there won't be anyone around to chaperone you two."

"Until we figure out a place for her to stay." Luke handed the cartridge back and held up three fingers. Kyle grabbed two more cartridges and stuffed them into the bag. "I'm pretty sure that two adults can share a place with multiple beds without getting in each other's pants. Unlike the hotshots portrayed in Hollywood, I can have a perfectly normal professional relationship with women."

"You and me both." Kyle shrugged. "It's Jeanne, by the way."

"Figured as much." Luke nodded. "She still in the city?"

"For a while longer. I've been seeing her, showing her the city in my spare time."

"Good on you, Kyle. I hope she makes you happy."

They spread their gear out on the table and took turns inspecting each other's kit. When both were satisfied they put it all into the single duffel bag. The armor and combat gear went too. It would be a long drive to New Orleans. No sense wearing anything heavy now.

"Who is your informant, by the way?" Kyle looked up suddenly from the container, his face contorted in such a way that Luke knew Kyle had been putting off the question. Luke looked to the door, made sure it was shut, and beckoned for him to come closer.

"My cousin's a mutant" he told Kyle. "But she's keeping it under wraps, because she's still in high school and living with her parents. She's got some news-crawlers that put out feelers for mutant activity for me."

"And you don't want her on SHIELD's radar?"

"Not so much as an echo" Luke answered. "I'm sure they know she is one, but she's got a shot at a normal life still and I don't want to wreck that."

"I understand." Kyle indicated the door. "And you don't want Sunglasses Callahan knowing, because he's new and might be a SHIELD stooge?"

Luke saw no point in denying it. "We just met him. Once I'm sure that he won't go report it to some shadowmaster" Luke shrugged at the absurdity of the thought. "Or Hill. I don't know, I'm being cautious."

Kyle voiced his agreement. "No, that makes sense. If I had a relative in the boat, I'd like to think I'd lend a hand. You said she's in high school?"

"Yeah. Genius kid. A little wild, but great with computers and one of the fastest runner I've ever met."

"Well then, they get smarter every year." Kyle slung the duffel over his back, wincing only slightly at the weight. "I suggest we take this down on the elevator."

"We've got" Luke checked his watch. "A while yet. Come, let's get to know our teammates better."

Kyle moved to the door. "I'll leave it by the door. Think Sahara would be interested in the armory?"

"I think she has everything she needs" Luke replied. He eyed his watch again. It was one of those times where he looked at this watch and immediately forgot the time. "I might go stretch out a bit at the fitness center. If we're going to be sitting for a while, I'd at least like to get some work in."

"That does not sound like a bad idea. You up for a sparring match?"

"It'd have to be short. But yeah, I'd be game. Just, no powers."

Kyle scoffed. "Me, powers in the middle of a building? You're the one I'd be worried about. Slip a brass knuckle in on a punch and I'd be down for the count."

"Don't worry." Luke opened the door. "I only fight dirty against my enemies."


	7. Big Easy

_New Orleans, French Quarter  
Evening_

"Remind me again why we're here." Luke glanced around the street, grateful for the sunglasses. The sun had already disappeared behind the buildings but the bright neon of Bourbon Street would have made him wince. Kyle did not appear any more at ease, but he wore a more assured grin. The partying had already started. There were plenty of things to look at, except that none of it was what he wanted to look at. Drunks and whores and drug addicts as far as the eye could see.

"A foul place." Sahara grimaced as they passed an open door. The stench of sweat and alcohol poured out to greet them. This was not a pleasant place for a creature that relied on scent. "How can one stand this?"

"Lust, adventure, desperation…" Luke squinted as he tried to make out a sign. Half of the letters were out. "The dreg-side of society. People come here to forget about life, not to celebrate it. Keep your eyes peeled for the sign. I don't want to be on the street anymore than necessary."

Eyes followed their every step, more focused on Sahara's alien form than on them. She took it in stride. Her outfit has been designed to catch eyes. She wore the thin, white cotton t-shirt and denim hot pants like a pro, body moving with enough grace and poise to draw stares from men and women around her. The red bandanna in her mane complimented the look, locking in her in to the casual observer as a country-bred gal, even if she was a cat-person. It was just the right balance of innocent and appealing that would distract anyone but a eunuch.

But it was the bulky shock collar around her throat that raised the most eyebrows. Luke felt a pang of regret as he snuck a glance at the hard lines on her face. He had no doubt she felt humiliated, but she had voiced no complaints at the idea. It played into their strategy, and perhaps would be the key to getting this thing done.

When this was all over, he swore he would find a way to make it up to her. It was an awful way to be initiated into the team.

There were other mutants on the street, probably, but none that stood out as harshly as she did. Luke felt the hair on the back of his neck raise as certain seedier individuals cast covetous looks Sahara's way. Those were the kind of men that he didn't want to see again. Not without a pistol in his hand. They clustered together in Sahara's wake, muttering and calculating. He'd heard that there were mutant-slavers in the South. Actually seeing them made him want to draw and unload a magazine into the disgusting scum.

"There." Kyle pointed. "Marti's info says that we can find Marko in this one."

"The high-class one?"

It was one of the less seedy places on the street. The lights were clean and bright, the walls paitned and the windows lacked graffiti. There were no huddled bodies outside, no vagrants or streetwalkers to litter the front. It was the kind of place one would find someone important. Luke slipped his hands out of his pockets and gestured for them to cross the street. He had to fight from clenching and unclenching his fists.

"Come on then, let's get going."

They pushed through the crowd and into the shelter of the entrance. There were no bouncers on Bourbon Street. Not on the outside at least. The trio of suited goons that greeted them in the entrance was the security. Sizing them with practiced skill, Luke bet that they were all pretty good at their job. They didn't even pay Sahara a special glance, or do any funny business as they searched her. They were rather polite about it, especially considering the fact that Luke and his comrades were an unknown. A professional pat-down, a rough slap on the shoulder, and they were in. One even had the courtesy to wish them a good night.

One of the three led them further inside. They skirted the main bar area, heading unerringly to the back rooms. As they walked Luke scanned the faces surrounding them. There seemed to be no 'visitors' here. Every man and woman had the stamp of the Mob about them. Luke picked out brawlers, con artists, wrench monkeys, and even a couple songbirds. Most cast them an inquisitive look, the brawlers' bordered on hostile, but none gave them more than a second's attention. The entertainment on the stage, a blonde haired, doe-eyed singer, kept most of them happily occupied as they celebrated the end of the week.

There were no smiles though. Despite the lighting and the cheer in the singer's voice, not a man or woman among them dared curve their lips upwards. Someone cracked a joke as they passed, but the only response was a series of nervous chuckles from the others around the table. The tone reminded Luke of a child sent to his room after being caught in the cookie jar. Punishment was around the corner, but they had no idea what exactly there were going to face. Luke connected the dots easily enough. The vigilante had made business bad, and most likely humiliated a few faces in the crowd. Heads either were rolling, or about to start.

They cleared the main room and entered the narrow hallway in the rear. A fourth thug let them inside an inconspicuous side room crammed between the women's bathroom and a janitor's closet. Luke stepped in first, as was expected of the leader of the gang they were posing as. His eyes didn't wander from picking out the lone figure in the room, but he took it all in easily enough. It was a long room, not too wide on account of the two rooms adjacent to it. Red velvet couches lined each side, set on little tracks so that they could fold in and complete a circle in the center of the room. Old fashioned oil lamps hung from the rafters, giving the room a smoky, ill-lit atmosphere. Sahara hissed quietly as she entered, her more sensitive nose finding offense at the heavy fumes. Luke made no sign of hearing it, but strode forward to the gap between the first set of couches. He bobbed his head respectfully to the man on the central couch.

The bulky figure nodded back. A fat hand clutching a thick Cuban cigar gestured for them to come before him. The two guards remained by the door as Sahara and Kyle filed in and stood in beside Luke. No one spoke while the man looked them over.

As far as mob bosses went, Marko struck Luke as very typical. Pinstriped suit, hefty girth but plenty of muscle remaining on his body. His eyes sat deep inside his eyebrows and his jaw hung like a pig. Cold, calculating intelligence glimmered in his bluish-green orbs as Marko took in their arrival. Chomping down on the cigar, he waved for them to sit down.

"Marko." Luke bobbed his head differentially. "Thank you for taking the time to meet."

"Time." The mob boss chuckled darkly. He took a long drag from his cigar and cast a watery smoke ring. "Time is something that I have in abundance now, thanks to that damned shapeshifting demon. Made business a little too thin for my liking."

Luke blinked slowly and tilted his head just slightly to the side, letting Marko know that he didn't care. Leaning back into the cushion, he crossed his arms. The motion did not deter the mob boss, who carried on. He waved his cigar grandly and adopted an injured expression.

"I offer valuable services to the community here. My drugs are clean, my drinks are cheap, and my girls get routine checkups. Tell me who else in this town is kind enough to take those steps. What I do is not only respectable, but it's honest. More honest than those fleabitten pencil pushers in City Hall, I can tell you that. Only, this demon-thing doesn't see it that way." He paused for effect and let out a heavy sigh. "It's hit three transactions in the past month alone. Trashed the goods, injured my men, and sent my contacts running underground. Slowed business to a crawl."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Marko shot them a sly look. Snuffing out the cigar, he put his hands together and pointed to Luke. "It's a terrible mess, just terrible. People come to me asking, when are the goods coming in? When can they get their cheap booze? And I'm forced to turn them away to the lowlifes that overcharge them for heavy water and diseased streetwalkers. It's not good for business, and it's not good for them. So when I hear that there's someone who excels in hunting animals and might be able to rid me of this infestation, I figure it is worth looking. Tell me, Mister Strickland. Are you worth looking into?"

"We're good" Luke assured him. "From what we've gathered already, this thing that's bothering you shouldn't stand a chance against us. You know how the English hunted, yes?"

Marko's face scrunched up in curiosity. Luke gave him a conspiratorial wink.

"They sent the dogs in first." He patted Sahara's shoulder. Her muscles tightened, but she held her composure. Luke squeezed her comfortingly, a motion that went unnoticed as Marko let his eyes roam across her. This was why they had asked her to wear the outfit over something more comfortable. Marko's attention seemed split between Luke and Sahara, and that made him vulnerable. A distracted man was a man they could push. "And the gentlemen kill the boar as it runs away."

Marko's bulk shook with laughter and he clapped his knee. "She's a little too catty for a dog, but I like the analogy. Hmm… I wonder, does she talk, this hunting bitch of yours?"

Sahara's muscles rippled with anger. Luke squeezed a little tighter. Cupping her chin, he pulled her eyes away so that she could have a moment of release. Murder flashed in her eyes, then returned to the dull, vacant expression she had to maintain. Luke shrugged and released her face.

"Not really. She understands a bit, but she's altogether more animal than human. Almost like having a pet tiger. Right, Sahara?"

Staying in character, she stared blankly ahead. Marko leaned forward and for a moment Luke thought he might grab her. Instead Marko waved his hand in front of her eyes. When they didn't so much as twitch, he whistled and sat back.

"She looks a little dead to me. How do you control her?"

Luke held up a remote. He pressed the power button and a light on her collar began flashing. The collar was a dud, but Marko did not need to know that.

"Mostly voice commands, but we buzz her when we need to."

"Interesting." Marko nodded his approval. "Yes, I think you will be just the team we need to deal with this creature. How does twenty thousand sound?"

Luke turned to Kyle and they exchanged a long look. It was more for Marko's benefit; they didn't care what the pay was because they had plans for Marko when this was all done. After what he deemed was an appropriate pause, Luke turned back and smiled.

"We can do that. Cash, if you please. Get us a meeting to suss out and we can guarantee you the catch. We'll give you the creature in a bag."

"That, I can do." Marko pulled a phone out of his pocket and began dialing. "I have a ship waiting to dock. They've been sitting there for a few days, and their cargo is a little… hot, if you catch my drift. It'll be along the river, in the abandoned factories area."

Luke nodded and stood up. He tossed a business card onto the table. "We'll start heading that way now to scope out the area. Forward the meeting information to this number, and you'll have the creature by lunch tomorrow."

They started to leave, but Marko called for them to wait. "One last thing, Mister Strickland."

Luke waved for Kyle to relax. "Yes?"

"If this thing is just an animal, I want it dead. If it's something more though, some shapeshifter mutant or whatever, I want it alive. It'll suffer long and hard for the trouble it's caused me."

Luke offered a professionally blank stare. "Price the same either way?"

Marko thought about it, then shook his head. "An extra five if it's human and you take it alive."

"Done."

They left the bar and didn't slow down until they reached the car. Sahara slid into the back and ripped the collar from her throat the instant the doors unlocked. Hissing in irritation, she rubbed the disturbed fur smooth and caught Luke's eyes through the rearview mirror.

"That man is swine."

"Well, he is a mob boss."

"I will enjoy bringing him to justice." Sahara slid a jacket on and began buckling her sword and pistol into their proper places. She patted him on the shoulder when she finished. "I am ashamed to say that even our culture has not rid ourselves of such vermin. Do you have a plan for dealing with him?"

"Once we get our mutant." Luke pulled out of the parking space and started down the street. His eyes darted this way and that as they left the more notorious alleys of New Orleans. "Don't worry about him. He'll get his."

Turning off the main road, Luke took them through a series of side streets and alleys that eventually landed them on the river. He checked his phone, noted a new email, and passed it off for Kyle to read. Kyle rattled off an address, then started giving directions once he had punched it into the phone's GPS.

"Marti." Luke flipped his radio on. "You reading us?"

"Clear as a mud, Chief. Since there are three of you in the vehicle, I'm assuming you are all in one piece."

"Sure." Luke motioned to Kyle and took the phone. "I'm going to give you an address. Can you give us a recon on it?"

"Putting it in now. The SHIELD satellite is entering target window now. It'll give thermal and night lens view. Would you prefer I forward it to you or advise from here?"

"Keep it on your side" Luke answered. "Just make sure that you don't get bored. I don't want any unpleasant surprises."

"Okay… thermal imaging shows the place is clear. If that changes, you will be the first to know."

_New Orleans, Warehouse_

Luke checked his earpiece again. It was a bad habit, something that he had picked up after a faulty radio had nearly blown a mission in Afghanistan. His contact, a swarthy man named Ichabod, shot him a queer look.

"You nervous?"

"Of the animal, no." Luke made a show of looking about at the entrances. The warehouse opened up onto the river so boats could come directly in for unloading. There were about a dozen men hanging around to receive the shipment. Kyle and Sahara were outside, prowling the rooftops. Sahara's nose and Kyle's affinity to the birds made them excellent scouts. Whichever direction the mutant came from, they would know.

"You should be." The man shuddered. "They say it eats the hearts of those it kills."

"That sounds like something out of a myth." Luke shook his head. "Whatever this thing is, it won't be a problem. Animals are all alike. No matter what breed it is, it is still just an animal."

"Tough talk." The man snickered. "Let's hope it's more than that."

The boat came in quietly. The modified engines were near silent on the water. Four men stood in the boat, armed. Their eyes were peeled as they guided the boat in and tossed their ropes over. The men worked quickly and efficiently. They wasted no time except for fearful glances in the direction of the doors and windows.

Luke stepped away and turned his back on them. He dismissed the man, hoping he would go away. He didn't. The man stayed close enough to listen in. Marko must have told him to keep an eye on them.

"Report in."

Their responses were slow in coming. It did not matter to Luke, he knew they were on top of things. While he waited he studied the entryways again. They said it came as a wolf, or some kind of wolfhound. That meant it would come in low. This was an abandoned warehouse with plenty of gaps and holes in the ground-floor walls. A wolf could sneak through any number of them.

"Kyle here." He spoke in a slow, clear rhythm. "I think I've spotted our bandit. Coming in from the west, near the water."

"Roger that."

"She's a beauty. Gray fur, sleek coat. If she were a true wolf I'd hang her pelt over my door."

"What?" Luke glanced to the west. He knew Kyle was up there somewhere. "What?"

"Never mind." There was a sigh. "Humor is wasted on the living."

"If you are done with your banter." Sahara cut in on the line. "Should you need me in the warehouse or on the perimeter?"

"Stay on the perimeter" Luke ordered. "If she tries to run I'll need you to corner her."

"It will do." Her line buzzed. "_I will do_. Apologies."

"Not bad" Kyle said. "You've been on the planet for how long?"

"Long enough."

"Kyle, focus on the here and now." Luke slipped the hunting rifle from his shoulder. He had created it a while ago, before the men arrived. Better to not reveal he was a mutant as well. "Let me know her entrance vector."

"Still on the water. I think she's going to slink in through a hole in the wall. There is a bit that's patched up with sheet metal. I pulled it back earlier when we were scouting the place out. Look for her there."

"Got it." Luke searched out the spot. Finding it, he purposefully stood with his back to the wall. "Let me know when she enters."

He did not have long to wait. Barely a minute later Kyle popped his radio. "Bogie is in the house."

Luke took a deep breath. He listened, unable to hear the wolf. But he smelled it. Smelled the heavy scent of wet dog. It was there alright. Sliding the bolt back, he hand-loaded a cartridge. When he spun to shoot, it didn't even have time to yip.


	8. I'm on a Boat

**_New Orleans, French Quarter  
Early Morning_**

Luke sipped at his coffee, eyes fighting to stay open. It had been a long night. After bagging the mutant they had cleared the area and surreptitiously tipped off a local hardnosed police detective. They didn't know if the shipment had been apprehended en route, but that was all they were going to do for now. Their cover had to remain intact. The mutant was their target; Marko came second.

Speaking of which…

The wolf hardly stirred in its cage. For the first hour or two he had worried that the dosage might have been too much. He had used a human-sized payload. The wolf was much smaller than the average human. It was a large wolf, but not more than one hundred twenty pounds. It had not reacted well at first. Kyle resuscitated it twice when its vitals had dropped too low from the tranquilizer. Whoever this mutant was, it was going to have one hell of a hangover when they finally came around.

He leaned back in his chair, reaching casually for a donut on the table. Kyle had grabbed Krispy Kreme before heading off to schedule their meeting with Marko. It was a godsend. Sahara had taken the first shift at guarding their prisoner during the night, but Luke had not gone to sleep anyway. He had spent the majority of the night checking news reports and digging into the mystery surrounding their canine friend. No official sources had anything useful. They were all skeptical of the legends and pinned the trouble on some random vigilantism. One newspaper site even went so far as to claim this was a poor attempt at a Spiderman copycat.

The unofficial blogs had yielded results, but still nothing conclusive. Some conspiracy theorist blog called _A Day in the SuperLife_ claimed that the vigilante was a street rat mutant who had taken up arms to defend fellow orphans. Luke had gotten two important things out of the blog: the mutant was young, and the mutant didn't have any kind of plan or strategy. That made it a loose cannon. Removing it from the playing field would save lives in the long run. Those kinds of people always brought on collateral damage.

He checked his watch. 0750. The tranquilizers should have worn off by now. Luke casually finished the donut and wiped his hands. He could use a change of shirt. It was beginning to smell of wet dog.

"Wakey, wakey" he muttered, staring at the wolf's face. There, its eyes flickered. It took a deep breath, giving a little whining cough as it returned to consciousness. Luke sighed and molded his hand into the tranquilizer grip. He wanted it to be out in the open, to make the mutant think twice before trying any shenanigans. "Rise and smell the bacon, Balto."

The wolf growled and shook itself, stumbling to its legs as it recovered its senses. Despite coming off of a cocktail of tranquilizers, it retained fairly good grace. A back leg kicked out reflexively, almost like a twitch, and smacked a bar. The wolf froze, eyes snapping wide open. It made no sound as its golden eyes studied the cage. It made no moves to test the cage, but Luke could see its body tensing and flexing as it gained its bearings. An eye flicked over to him; it snarled viciously.

"Easy" Luke warned. He waved the tranquilizer. "I don't want to use this again."

The wolf continued snarling, teeth showing as it backed against the far edge of the cage. Luke shook his head. He held out his hand and let the tranquilizer fade away. The wolf hesitated.

"I'm a mutant too" he said. "Relax. We're here to help you."

The wolf hid its teeth, but its wary stare did not waver. Sitting down on its haunches, it regarded me with a severe expression. He nodded his appreciation.

"I apologize for the cage. It was for your own safety while you were out. We're trying to keep you under the radar right now. My name is Luke. Yours?"

The wolf's head cocked to the side. It licked is muzzle. Luke took it that the wolf-mutant was not going to be overly cooperative. He could not blame it. They were not off to a good start with the tranquilizing and the caging.

"Are you hungry?" He motioned to the coffee and donuts. The wolf broke its gaze to study the food. Luke saw hunger there. Not animal hunger. Human hunger. Its resolve wavered. He took advantage of that to draw closer. The motion drew the wolf's attention again, and a gruff bark warned him to stay away. He stopped short and slid off of the chair. Sitting cross-legged, he met the wolf's eyes. That normally wasn't a smart thing to do. But he decided to establish dominance early on. He had no idea how strongly linked this mutant was to its wolf form, but if it had any carryover canine tendencies, then he could cow it. That was his assumption.

The wolf looked away after a minute. Its head lowered and it glanced up at him with a show of meekness. He nodded again.

"Better. I'm with SHIELD. Do you know SHIELD?"

Blank look. Luke let out a long, heavy breath.

"This is going to be a painful and fruitless conversation unless you can speak" he said. "Can you… speak? Or at least change back to your natural form? I feel silly trying to hold a one-sided conversation with a wolf and I'm not even sure if you can understand me."

The wolf bared its teeth. Luke shook his head and stood up. He studied the wolf for a moment longer before turning back to the table.

"Fine. I don't know if you eat wolf-food in this form or normal food. Until I can speak with you, you'll have to stay in the cage. Forgive me, but I'm not going to trust a wolf with free reign. But I don't like keeping you in there either. Please, give me something to work with here."

"Charlotte."

Luke turned his head. The wolf was gone. In its place sat a sharp-eyed young woman that couldn't have been older than twenty. Her body was lean and ragged from malnourishment and the soles of her feet were calloused. And she was naked. The woman sat awkwardly, body twisted away from him with her arms protecting her modesty. Her face disappeared under a shower of black hair as she shifted her hair to cover herself more. Luke glanced away on reflex.

"I'll get you some clothes, Charlotte."

"Thank you."

He pulled his phone and dialed in Sahara's number. The phone rang twice before she picked up.

"Yes?" She sounded wide awake, but Luke could tell she had been sleeping. In the short time that he had known her, he had found out she tended to purr when still waking up. Must be a feline thing.

"I need some women's clothes down here. Our guest is awake and-"

"Of course. I will be a minute."

"Grateful." Luke hung up and turned back to the cage. The woman was staring at the table. Her eyes watered and she licked her lips at the sight of the extra coffee cups and the donut box. Luke approached the cage and reached for the latch. She shrank back, curling into a ball as if afraid he would hurt her. He opened the door and stood back.

"My partner is bringing you clothes. She will be here in a minute. In the meantime, get some food in you. You look like you could use it."

She crawled out of the cage with some hesitancy. Bruises covered her body, mainly small ones, but some bad ones as well. Lots of healing scratches as well. Her body looked like hell. He wondered if they were all from her gallivanting adventures as a wolf. Then he saw the ugly bullet-sized scar. A tingle went up his spine at the sight; it lay just off of her heart. A bullet that close… she should have been killed instantly.

He stepped further back and motioned towards the table. Producing his SHIELD badge, he tossed it towards her. She snatched it up in wonder. Attention partly on him, partly on the badge, she hurried to the table and started eating. Caution went out the window as she fell on the eight remaining donuts like a starving dog. The analogy sat uncomfortably with him. She pretty much was a starving dog, or at least had been a moment ago. This mutant stuff was giving him a headache.

"Take it slow" he advised. "It's not going anywhere."

He slipped his jacket off and tossed it on the table beside her. Turning away, he watched the wall and listened to her munching donuts and slurping coffee. She devoured seven of the donuts in a couple minutes. He wondered how long it had been since she last ate. If the answer was a couple days he would not have been surprised. Getting her some solid, healthy food in the future would be important. The donuts would give her a sugar buzz, but she needed real nutrition.

Eventually the eating noises died down Luke risked looking back. She had slipped into his jacket and had her legs tucked to the side. He spent a deal of effort keeping his eyes from wandering. It was hard, but not because of her bare legs. Her body was like a book, and the ungodly amount of bruises and scars were the ink. Her hands alone spoke of a miserable life. They were thin, bony, covered in scabs and dirt. Her palms were calloused from years of drudge work. He saw a nasty scar that ran the length of her right palm. She had grabbed a knife with that hand at some point in the recent past. That was a horrible wound. All kinds of nerves ran across that line, and it had to be hurting her even now.

"Does that sound familiar? SHIELD ring a bell?"

"SHIELD are police" she said. Her voice was a touch hoarse, and she sipped at a water bottle. He thought he detected a faint accent. Cajun probably, but it was too soft to really tell at this point. Was she a native of the area then? Seemed likely. "That makes you police."

"Sort of."

"Why did you stop me? Those men were bringing in drugs."

"They'll get theirs, trust me. We pulled you out because things are getting too hot for you. You've stirred up one hell of a storm, kid. Marko threw the gauntlet; he called for underground hunters from across the nation to take you down. You're lucky we got to you first."

"Is that supposed to scare me?" Her eyes flashed defiantly. "I've outwitted his goons before."

"These aren't the normal goons you'd be facing. We're talking about mutant hunters and poachers. Men whose sole profession is to hunt wolves like you."

She didn't flinch. He had to admit, she had stones. "I'm not afraid."

"Courage is commendable" he told her. "But your death would have no purpose. He would just recoup his losses and get right back in the swing of things. Best case, he's had three or so months of bad business. For a man like him, that's a few drops from the bucket."

"Even a little trouble is better than no trouble." She frowned. "What else can I do?"

"You could leave him to the professionals."

"The professionals?" She spat on the floor. "Marko pays them off so they ignore him. Where are the _professionals_ when he runs drug shipments from the cartels? Where were they when he murdered my sister?

Her motive. Luke winced inwardly as he caught the brief flash of agony that flitted across her face.

"Your sister? I'm sorry."

"Sure" she scoffed. "Like you'd care. You didn't know her. You don't know me. I'm just some amateur doing your job for you. Why should I matter?"

"You matter because you're a person." He took the SHIELD badge back and slipped it in his pocket. "The fact that we're even here should tell you how much you matter. Our job isn't supposed to deal with normal humans. As far as I know, we're prohibited from it. You are the reason we are here. We came here because we knew you were in danger. As for your sister, of course we didn't know her. But I know what it is to lose family. Was she a mutant too?"

"No. But she was the best human I've ever met."

"How did Marko kill her?"

"We were orphans. She was beautiful." Charlotte's head drooped. Her sugar buzz was already wearing off. The exhaustion was coming back. "Marko picked her up as a plaything for a while. He took care of her as long as she stayed on his arm and… entertained him. I got to stick along for the ride. But then he got bored with her. He got her hooked on cocaine and put her on the streets. Some junkie strangled her to death five years ago."

"Five years" Luke repeated softly. "That makes you…"

"Nineteen."

He whistled under his breath. She really was a kid. "A regular street kid, huh."

"I'm a survivor." Her expression was pained. "Any way that I can."

"What if we could give you more?"

The door opened and Sahara strode in. She had a whole bundle of clothes in her arms. Hardly slowing to say hello, she approached the startled and wide-eyed Charlotte and tossed the clothes on the table.

"We were not sure of your size so I grabbed a bit of everything. Find something that fits you, child, and dress yourself. You will catch a cold in this weather."

Charlotte did not move. She stared at Sahara in awe, eyes roving up and down her fur-covered body. Her mouth moved as she tried to form words.

"This is Sahara." Luke gestured to his partner. "She's not from around here."

"I've never seen a mutant like you before" Charlotte breathed. Her hand reached out to touch Sahara's arm. "You are so pretty."

"I am no mutant" Sahara sniffed. Charlotte cringed, worried that she had offended the catwoman. Offering a reassuring smile, Sahara picked through the clothes and held up a shirt to see if it looked about the right size. She looked back at Luke and beckoned for him to leave. "You are no longer needed here. Give the poor child some privacy. There is a message waiting for you outside."

Luke took the hint. He strode out of the room and into the lone functional hallway in the small warehouse they had taken. Fatigue threatened his eyelids, but he pressed on to the main doors. Kyle greeted him just outside.

"She awake I take it?"

Luke nodded and rubbed his temples. "She is… a kid. Nineteen years old and living in hell. She's in a bad way, Kyle. Lots of physical damage and malnourishment. I don't know how she's still functioning."

His brows furrowed in worry. "Is she okay?"

"Depends on your definition. Sahara is with her now. I think she will be fine, physically, but I don't think we'll be able to recruit her as is. We'd have to take care of something first. She's grounded here."

"Which is?" Kyle cocked his head to the side. He appeared wide awake and ready to roll. Luke envied his ability to recharge his biological batteries, so to speak.

"She's got a blood feud with Marko."

"The mobster? Well, that makes sense. Are you saying we have to take him down?"

Luke appreciated that Kyle did not balk at the idea. Neither of them seemed to be bothered with the idea of going after a drug-runner, even if it lay outside their specific mission parameters. This was exactly the kind of thing they had hunted down across the ocean.

"Yes." Luke shrugged. "I'm not complaining. But we're in no shape to go after him right now. I need rest, and I don't know about Sahara. But the girl, Charlotte by the way, is malnourished and pretty wild. You're the only one at full steam right now."

Kyle turned away. From what Luke could see the man was squinting up and away towards the buildings across the parking lot. He doubted they were being watched; they were in the alley between warehouses not in the open. Anyone trying to spy on them from that far away had to have one heck of a zoom. A typical mob thug wouldn't have that. If Kyle was anxious though, it paid to play it safe. Kyle had just as much experience as Luke. He would not be jumping at his own shadow.

"Something wrong?"

"Not immediately. I think Marko tried to tail me though."

"So you were able to contact him?"

"Yes." Kyle held out his hand to warn Luke back. They slowly melted back into the shadows cast by the rising sun. Their eyes drew to the parking lot on instinct. "He wants to see the body."

"Did you tell him she was dead?"

"No. Remember what he said: extra if it's brought in alive. I told him it was sedated and under control."

Luke huffed and dug into his pockets. "He bit the bait?"

"He swallowed it like a five dollar hooker. Couldn't believe his luck. Us letting the delivery arrive helped cement that too. The feds weren't able to catch it, but that might have gone in our favor here. Apparently he had a special goon on the team to keep an eye on us. If they had snatched it, things might have been a little unpleasant."

"Wonderful." Luke felt a sudden rush of comfort flood his veins.

"Marko said he'd be celebrating on his yacht out in the bay tonight. Be at the dock by 2000 and he would take us across. If we aren't planning on meeting tonight then we should contact him by noon. He will also be available tomorrow morning."

"Those are close options." Luke thought about it. "Better to hit him at night when he's partying than when he's alert. We'll need to talk to Charlotte though." He motioned for Kyle to go inside. "Come on, let's go get you acquainted with her."

By that time Charlotte had found some appropriate, and baggy, clothes. She took a step back when they entered, eyes scanning them both. Her frown softened when she looked at Luke, but she made no move to approach.

"Charlotte, this is Kyle. He's the other member of our team." Luke made no move to draw closer. Sahara had taken his chair and stretched out languidly, lapping coffee in a very feline manner. "He has some news."

Her ears perked and she stared at him. In place of Luke's jacket she had donned a set of skinny jeans and an oversized hoodie. Her feet remained bare, as did her face. Most of the scratches and wounds were hidden now, but the haunted shadows in her eyes showed even more.

"Good to meet you" Kyle said. He started forward as if considering extending a hand. Thinking better of it, he shrugged and clasped his hands behind his back. "As of right now, the mob thinks you are in our custody and sedated. We told them that we can deliver you to Don Marko either tonight or tomorrow morning."

Her eyes flared and she made an inhuman noise in her throat. Sahara's muscles rippled and she set her coffee down. She made no aggressive gesture but her claws unsheathed. Luke stepped forward to clarify before panic took over the young mutant.

"We're planning to take him out" he promised. "_If_ you agree to this, the plan is to bring you to him and then take him down. We have the authority to launch a raid with the local federal services. You don't have to though. Our goal was to get you to safety. That's done. Marko is a secondary goal; we can hit him with a full frontal assault if we need to. You don't have to be involved."

Charlotte said nothing. Her eyes grew misty and she glanced down at his jacket, folded carefully on the table. A quiet whimper came out and she sat down. Luke gave her space. He slipped back into his jacket and nodded towards her.

"We can give you time. For your safety we have to keep you in here. Marko's still on edge, and he might be trying to spy on us."

When she did not respond Luke gestured for the others to follow him out. Kyle closed the door, leaning back so that he could keep an eye on her through the window.

"Think she'll do it?"

"She is a strong vessel" Sahara blinked lazily. "But her mind is fragile. We should be careful how we involve her. If she is not strong enough, her mind might break."

"Kyle?" Luke turned to his partner for advice. The Marine had his eye glued to the window, checking on the young mutant in case she tried to flee. On Luke calling his name he frowned and motioned for Luke to join him.

"Take a look at that girl. She's just sitting there."

Luke peered through the window. Charlotte was perched silently in the chair, arms and legs folded and her head bowed. Clutched in her hands was the last cup of coffee, still steaming faintly despite how long had it been since it had been poured. Her body trembled as she sat, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"Poor girl" Luke muttered. He stepped away and sighed. "It shouldn't have to happen this way. God, but why can't these kids get a good turn?"

"Maybe we're that good turn." Kyle finally looked away from the door. "I don't think we should send her in with Marko. The chance is too high that she'd either snap or panic. Or get hurt. We should play this one straight up. FBI raid."

"We'd need hard evidence to get them to act."

"Marti can find something on him that will get the FBI tugging at the leash. I'll start the boulder rolling." Kyle patted Luke's shoulder and started off down the hallway. "Whatever you decide, Chief, take care of her."

Sahara and Luke exchanged a long look. She said nothing, but Luke caught the hesitancy in her scent. Her ability to project via scent took some major getting used to. Usually she controlled it and kept it to herself, but when she was tired it would sometimes slip out. He asked her to confirm, just so he could be sure.

"Would you send a puppy before the hunter that murdered its mother?"

"Depends on if the puppy has claws."

She gave him a cross look. A single fang slipped free of her lips and bared itself. The asymmetry ruined the effect, giving her a more cute look than a fierce one. He found himself thinking of the cat from _Oliver & Company_. The thought brought a smile, which she misunderstood as a mocking one.

"This is not a jovial matter" she hissed. "There is a young one's life at stake."

"Trust me, I know." Luke tore the smile from his face and leaned against the wall. "Above anything, we will take care of her. I would rather face Marko head-on then put her in the line of fire if she's not ready for it."

"Shh."

Charlotte had moved. She stood by the door, looking out at them with one hand pressed against the glass. Her fingers rapped softly. _Can I come out?_

He opened the door and beckoned for her to come in. She kept close to the wall, eyes darting between his and Sahara's. Red eyes blinked and blinked as she fought back the last of her tears.

"You are going to take down Marko. I want in on that. I want to be there when the bastard dies."

"Charlotte, you don't have to."

"But I want to!" She took a step forward, eyes flashing dangerously. Her body trembled with pent-up rage. For a moment Luke saw her eyes flash lupine and golden. Raising a calming hand, he patted her shoulder.

"It is going to be dangerous, and you're tired. Can you handle that?"

"I can." She swallowed hard. A touch of nervousness edged her voice. She closed her eyes for a moment, and when they reopened the golden hue had disappeared. Her shoulder slumped. "I can handle that."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

Luke forced her to look him in the eye. She flinched, eyebrows twitching and mouth hinting towards a frown. But the fire and passion was there. When he was satisfied he stepped away.

"Get some rest then. Tonight is going to be hectic. Sahara can keep you company for now, but I need to go work out the meeting so we can hit him." He paused as a thought crossed his mind. "Is the wolf your only form?"

"I can do a couple" she replied. "I'm most comfortable with the wolf. It takes time to get used to a new creature."

"Growing pains, huh?"

She gave him a blank look. "You ever try compressing your body into a dolphin?"

His feline partner took the lead. With a soft purring call she guided Charlotte into the room where they had set up cots. As she stepped through she turned back to Luke and nodded to assure him she had everything under control.

The door closed and Luke felt a flood of thoughts rush over him like water from a broken dam. He sank down to a sitting position and closed his eyes. He wanted sleep. Making it through the night could happen, but the travel lag from the drive was killing his system. Picking a thought out of the swirling mess, he concentrated on that and let everything else fall to the wayside.

_Wolf_. She was a shapeshifter, but not just a specific one. That was new. Mutant powers were still alien to him. The limitations were endless; any doubt he could have had were swept under the rug when he thought of the more famous figures. The metal-bender Magneto for sure told him that mutants could have immeasurable powers. A mutant who could shapeshift could be a deadly weapon.

_Not a weapon._

He smacked his head lightly against the wall. No human was a weapon. No mutant would be a weapon if he was in charge. She had a name, a will, and a life. Damn it, he did not like the temptation to qualify his team by their powers. It was too easy: Kyle was a natural agent, so to speak; Sahara was… a humanoid cat. He set his hand in the air and thought about his Beretta. The pistol formed in his grip and he took time examining the feel of the weapon. It was so pure and real that he looked down at his real sidearm, still locked in its holster. Perfect as real. The power to create a killing machine with his mind. He wasn't sure he liked having that power.

Next he tried to create a baseball bat. The shape took form, fuzzy on the edges, and wavered in his hands. He had little experience with bats. Football had been his game. Forcing his mind to recall those faint memories, he gritted his teeth and formed it. The baseball bat felt light, like aluminum, but wooden and top heavy. It shattered when he struck the floor. Brittle.

A coffee cup: defined and strong as the ceramic the original was made of. A football: firm and full. On a whim he tried to form a chair. He struggled. The image filled in slowly. Ornate woodscrawl slithered along the legs. The back wavered and bowed as the arch took form. The seat's flat surface began to indent-

"Luke!"

Kyle grabbed his shoulder. Luke blinked and looked up, releasing the image from his mind. The beginnings of the chair vanished. Dizziness struck him like a slap in the face. He tried to stand, but his legs wobbled and Kyle held him down. His head hurt.

"You're pushing yourself when you shouldn't. Here." Kyle offered a handkerchief. "Nosebleed."

"Oh." Luke dabbed at his upper lip. Warm blood stained through to his fingers. "I've had worse."

"Yeah, but we need you tonight. Go get some sleep, Chief. I'll keep watch and worry about the planning."

"Did you get a hold of Marti?"

"Marti's collecting everything he can. I've contacted the local FBI chief and he's agreed to scramble an assault force with the local SWAT. They have a team specially trained for boarding ships."

"Good. Good."

Kyle helped him up and guided him to the room with cots. Charlotte was asleep, curled up in a ball on the first mattress with a warm blanket over her. Walking past, they greeted Sahara and Luke flopped down on the second mattress. He was out in minutes. As his eyes finally closed, he caught a flash of golden eyes. Charlotte shut her eyes tight and turned her head, pretending she had not been staring.

**_New Orleans, Lake Pontchartrain  
Early Evening_**

The speedboat pitched sideways as a wave struck it. Luke kept his balance with ease, adjusting at the knees. The mobster thugs on the boat took it with less grace, grabbing onto the side rails or sitting down on the benches. Charlotte, back in wolf form and locked in a cage, growled. It had been a long conversation that put her in the cage. She had almost panicked at the thought of getting back in, but Luke had persuaded her that she would be safe.

Right now he did not know if she was merely acting the part or truly angry. Probably a bit of both. Her hackles lowered when she looked up at him. Understanding flickered there, nestled in her canine face. Luke drew the others' attention just in case anyone else picked up on it. He doubted it any of them had the ability to; it paid to be safe. Pointing back at the New Orleans skyline, low as it was, he called out something about the view. Half of them looked back. The others glared about as if they wanted everything around them to shrivel and die.

"That's a beautiful ship" he said, stalking up to the wheel. The pilot was a ginger-haired, rotund fellow with a broad grin. He bumped Luke's elbow with his own and snickered. The noise was nearly lost over the speedboat's engine.

"She's a beauty. Three stories, swimming pool, cocktail bar, suite bedrooms. That's my baby, she is. Don Marko let me have a say in her rigging."

"Really?" Luke cocked his head to the side, curious. "You his special pilot or something?"

"Top pilot" the man corrected. "Been his pilot for a long time."

"Must be interesting, running with the top dogs."

"It gets me behind the wheel, and paid for it too. That's enough for me." The driver chuckled. "But what about you? Hunting mutants and the like, that's gotta be fun work."

"Keeps things interesting." Luke gave the man a second look. He could sweat he heard a touch of trepidation there. Giving the man a hard look, he sized him up. Yes, he was a touch twitchy. An Irish flag tattoo peeked out above his collar on the side of his throat. "Nervous? I never hunted the IRA."

"Oh, it's not my IRA history that I'm worried about." The man made a nervous noise and looked away. He self-consciously covered his tattoo. "Is that your power, reading minds?"

"Nope." Luke patted his shoulder roughly, noting how he flinched. "Relax. I only kill the bad ones."

"Bad is a relative term for our kind. Here we go." The man called back to the others. "Docking in a minute, lads. Get the bitch ready to move. I don't like her getting her fur all over my little one."

They shuffled to work in a host of grumbles. Those with the protective gear made their way to the cage and took the handles. Charlotte made a show of biting and snapping, but she held back from actually hitting them. They kept a pretty clear distance anyway.

"Easy on the merchandise" Luke warned them. "She's got a nice coat."

A couple of them snickered, but they took the hint. Checking his pockets, Luke pulled a stick of gum out and palmed a piece. He offered one to the pilot.

"What's your name, sailor?"

"Bailey."

"Ha, good Mick name."

"Just wait until you here my first name."

"And what's that?"

He shook his head. "Time's up. Here's the ladder, boyo's. I'll see you up top. You stick around for drinks and war tales and I might tell you."

Luke said nothing. He let the others climb the ladder first, keeping an eye on the cage. The men carrying it leaned away from the cage as if afraid Charlotte would break free and attack. The thought made him smile grimly. They had no idea what was waiting for them. Sticking his hand inside his coat, he drew the Beretta. It came easily, although his breathing roughened for a few seconds. The afternoon nap had not been fully enough. He was not back on his A-game yet.

The guards led him across the deck and into a lounge area. The yacht was full tonight: people in party clothes danced and drank across the top of the yacht while a handful of suited goons patrolled the edges. Luke did a quick headcount as he moved through. The partiers took notice of the unusual procession, but their interest lay more on Charlotte than the large number of men in the entourage. They assumed Charlotte was some kind of exotic pet for the Don. A handful clapped and cheered.

Then they were below the deck, bending down to avoid bumping their heads against the ceiling. Another two guards met them at the bottom and directed them further down. This time there was no trickery in the room choice. They went straight into the main cabin with grand wood doors and Luke found himself in the closest thing to a state room he had ever entered. Don Marko sat on the opposite side of a large oak desk topped with many grand and glorious things. A single man stood behind him, a bear of a man with a WWE wrestler's build and well-groomed hair. Luke saw no signs of weapons on his person, not even a subtle bulge in his suit jacket. It struck him as odd, considering the vast firepower he had walked through to get to him. Perhaps Don Marko had full confidence in his men. That, or Hulk Hogan behind him was something special. Something like Luke.

The men set the cage in the middle of the room and backed away. Don Marko looked to them and nodded his head. They bowed and backed out of the room, leaving two others in addition to Marko, the Hulk Hogan, and Luke. He turned as if to watch the men leave, but in reality he counted their numbers and took note of exactly where they were. When things went down he would have to act fast.

"Don Marko." Luke tipped his head submissively. "Here she is, all wrapped up like a Christmas present. Sorry I didn't get you a bow."

"What I see is good enough" the Don chortled. He clapped his hands and motioned for the doors to shut. Once they were he gestured to the brute behind him. "Isn't that a beautiful little she-wolf? That's a rare specimen."

The brute grunted and took a step forward. Marko ordered him to stop.

"No, no. I want to admire her for a little bit. There has to be something more, something special about this she-wolf that she caused us so much trouble. Do you know her game, Mister Kapra? How is it that such a small thing causes such great mischief."

"Well…" Luke shrugged. "She's been drugged most of the time and hasn't shown anything unusual. But you're right, she isn't an ordinary wolf. I'm just not quite sure what she is."

"A puzzle. Oh how I do love puzzles." Marko clapped his hands again. He stood and walked around the desk, eyes fixed on Charlotte's wolf form. A greedy gleam settled in his eyes. Waving absently, he indicated a suitcase on the desk. "Your payment, with the bonus already added in good faith. Your services are much appreciated. Please, stay and enjoy the party above. Everything is paid for. It is only a shame that your comrades are not here to enjoy it as well. That catgirl of yours would be right pleasing to watch on the dance floor."

Luke chose to not reply. Accepting the suitcase, he returned to his place by the cage and ran his hand along the bars. Charlotte leapt as if to snap. He dodged his hands away just in time, and no one caught the slight flick as he undid the cage latch. Just as he hoped, it did not so much as creak.

"Where are your partners?" Marko caught his gaze. He pointed at Luke suddenly, thrusting his finger as if accusing him. "Why were they not able to make it again? Something about another contract in the area."

"Could be." Luke tsked. "My partner runs the business dealings, usually doesn't fill me in until he's got one on the rope. He's either doing that or…" Luke gave a smile that reached no further than his lips. "Enjoying our cat's other talents."

"Ah yes. She must be feisty." Marko withdrew his finger, appeased. "Still a shame though."

"Yes."

Luke's cell phone buzzed in his pocket. It repeated twice then went silent. That was the sign. FBI were en route. Luke hoped they had spotted the party. This would get messy fast. Kyle's assurance of the quality of the FBI HRT team only went so far in Luke's mind. He did not like being out of the loop on the overall command. It made him feel helpless and vulnerable.

Luke took a step away from the cage. Marko's phone started ringing, the sudden tenor tones breaking the stillness of the room. Everyone looked at the phone.

"You might want to get that." Luke dropped the suitcase. "Because your shit just hit the fan."

His hands snapped up and behind. Twin Berettas discharged and the men at the doors stumbled backwards. Not bothering to minimize the damage, he unloaded on them both. At the same time he kicked the grate of the cage wide open. Charlotte lunged out, teeth bared as she hurled herself at Marko. The mob boss had time to shriek before she caught him and knocked him on his side. Teeth and claws flashed and blood splattered. The man screamed and screamed.

The pistols clicked empty and Luke charged. Abandoning the pistols, he brought the baseball bat out and swung at the brute. Mister Hulk Hogan met him head on, snarling like a wild animal. Becoming a wild animal. Fur sprouted and teeth grew in a change as blindingly fast as Charlotte's. When the bat connected, shattering against the skull as he expected it to, Luke was staring into the blood-red eyes of an extremely pissed off grizzly bear.

"Aw… fu-"

The backhand hurled him across the room. He crashed through the doors, landing in a mess of limbs as Marko's men that had been outside toppled around him. Marko's cries were dying down, and Luke heard a gunshot and a canine yelp. Charlotte was in trouble. Extricating himself as best he could, Luke resummoned the Berettas and fired blindly into the mass of bodies surrounding him. Men screamed and died. Hands clawed at him. He killed without mercy and without a second thought.

He heard gunfire and screams up above. The FBI has arrived. Taking that as a sign that he would have no more reinforcements to deal with, he started for the doors to go back in.

Grizzly met him at the threshold. Dodging low under a strike that would have taken his head off, Luke drew Berettas and fired point blank. Grizzly hardly felt it if at all. Spinning after him, Grizzly took a chunk out of the wall. Luke continued on, putting round after round into his midsection. Charlotte had changed out of the wolf form. Her naked body squirmed around Marko, latched onto his back like a leech. He vaguely saw one arm locked around his throat, the other grabbing madly for a fallen pistol. His attention did not remain on her for long.

Leaping over the cage, Luke latched onto the door and swung the whole thing in a wide arc. The impact slowed Grizzly down, but only enough to earn him a single claw slashing across his forearm. The explosion of pain and agony as his bone cracked made him gasp. The Beretta in that hand dissipated. Staggering backwards, Luke cradled that arm and cast about for his options. Grizzly's jaws had caught on the cage. The monster had shuffled backwards and was ripping the cage apart piece by piece. It would keep him busy for another twenty seconds or so.

Gun fire began to echo down the halls, growing closer. The HRT were clearing through now. If Grizzly got out on them, they'd be torn to pieces. Luke needed to get him out of the way.

"Charlotte!" He leaned against the desk and took aim. His aim wavered from the burning pain in his system. The mass of struggling bodies had cleared somewhat. Marko's flailings had lessened to a pitiful level. Blood coated Charlotte's face. Both had a hand on Marko's pistol. The hole in Marko's throat told Luke that Charlotte had gotten to it first. It was only a matter of time until he bled out and died.

Time was not a luxury for them though. Grizzly finished off the cage and let loose a headache-inducing roar. Luke fire off a snap shot, vision blurring, and Charlotte shrieked. She scrambled away from Marko's now faceless head, eyes wide as the horror of his death sank through her rage. Head swimming, she shrieked and started backpedaling from the bloody corpse.

"Luke! Luke!"

"Get out!"

Luke rolled backwards over the desk as Grizzly lunged. The bear's body struck the desk so hard it tore the legs free. Desk, Luke, and shiny objects tipped and slammed against the shatter-proof glass windows. Luke fought to hold in a scream of pain. His broken arm was pinned over his head, desk edge grinding against the injury. Grizzly's roar of triumph made it worse. A strong but casual impact forced the scream from his lungs. He heard Charlotte shrieking; Marko's pistol fired repeatedly.

Twisting his good arm, he aimed at the glass he was pinned to and fired. The window cracked and fractured. He shot again. The cracks spread across the whole window. Grizzly's attention turned away. Charlotte's pistol stopped shooting.

"Charlotte follow me!"

Luke pulled the trigger again and the window broke. Propelled by the desk's weight, Luke tumbled out of the window and fell into the cold water of the lake.

...

_Pain. Fire in my lungs. Darkness everywhere- light overhead- darkness around me. Call out for help- salt water flooding my mouth. Don't swallow. Something pushed my leg aside. I grabbed- my arms moved like they were stuck in jello. It was slick. It was moving fast through the water. Control my breathing. Don't choke on the water. Where's the surface? It's up. Which was is up? Light- go to the light. What is- it's in the way. Pushing me down. Pushing me to the side. Losing sight. Can't breathe. Need air._

_..._

Luke woke with a start. He took a deep gasp, glorying in the salty air as he filled his lungs. His whole body ached except for his arm; his arm burned as if on fire. Careful to not make a sudden move that might make it worse, he sat up slowly and concentrated on taking slow breaths.

He was on the shore on the porch of a little shack. The lake stretched out in what felt like an endless expanse. For a moment he wondered if he had ended up on the swamp shores further down from the city. Then he reached into his pocket and checked his phone. Dead. Either the battery was out or the salt water had ruined it. Frustrated, he returned it and cast about for a clue as to where he was. His curiosity changed when he saw who was lying next to him.

It was hard to tell exactly who it was. He knew it had to be Charlotte, but she was so caked in sand and blood that from behind she could have been anyone. At some point she had taken his jacket and wrapped it around herself for protection. Her body shivered with each breath.

"Charlotte?"

She didn't answer. Luke shifted onto his side and sat up, eyes growing alert as he searched for anyone else. They were alone. No one was searching for them.

"Charlotte, how are you?"

Her head stirred. He scooted over and touched her shoulder lightly. She pulled away and whimpered.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

A long, agonized moan rattled her body. Luke leaned over her and checked her face. Her face was drenched in tears and she was biting her lip. Blood seeped out from the collar of his jacket across her neck and arms. He stared for a moment, trying to figure out how best to access whatever had happened to her. On a whim he concentrated and tried summoning a knife. The effort hurt, made worse by his sorry state.

"Hold still. I'm going to cut this off of you. I can help."

Not waiting to see whether or not she believed him, he put the knife against the small of her back, at the bottom of the jacket. She pushed back for a moment. Her hand shot back and grabbed his knee. She did not try to push him away though; she gripped it as if her life depended on it. The knife slit the jacket with ease. Luke took his time, making as soft a cut as he could. Even the slightest jerk drew a whine from the girl. The more he cut though, the more his heart sank.

Something had taken a giant bite out of her back. The wound was wide, jagged and ugly. Teeth marks, so many teeth marks, stretched from the small of her back to her shoulder blades. The bite looked vaguely like a shark's mouth, but deformed and not complete. Like she had slipped through its mouth before it could clamp down. Still, the damage was horrific.

"How did you do this" he murmured to himself. For a long moment he did nothing but look at the wound. He could summon a couple medical-use things. Somehow she had evaded the teeth so it only went a touch under skin deep. It wasn't bleeding freely, but he had no doubt she had bled quite a bit before he had woken up. "Stay still, kid. I'll fix something up for you. But I need you to let go of my hand."

She did reluctantly. Reaching past her face for a moment, he made her a little napkin-sized rag.

"Bite down on this."

Creating the rag made his eyes droop. Creating bandages to cover her back left him sweating and teetering like a sailor coming off shore leave. His hands shook as he wrapped the last bandage over her shoulder and tied it off on her opposite hip. Her whole back was cleaned and wrapped dry; it was the best he could do. Charlotte endured through it, for the most part lying limp, but shifting when she had to so he could play the bandage underneath her to reach the other side. Her fingers were curled in fists out to her sides, body laid in a cross-like fashion. She had ceased crying, but that was merely because she had no more tears to shed. When Luke finished he backed away and cast about for water or food. He did not expect to find anything. After a minute of searching he came back and found her unconscious where she had been lying.

"Damn it."

Her pulse was weak. Luke put a finger to her lips and felt her breath. Barely there. She was in a dangerous spot. If they didn't get medical care soon he would lose her. Blood loss aside, getting bitten by a… he decided to assume shark, meant a whole lot of shock and trauma. He dug into his pocket and produced the non-functioning phone. Of course it wasn't working. Murphy's Law liked to show up and bite him in the ass too often for his liking.

Rolling the phone in his hands, he tried to get a better feel for it. The phone was new; SHIELD had provided it. He did not know it well enough to reproduce. Biting back a curse, he hurled the phone into the lake and sat back down. His mind whirled and thundered as he considered his options. There might be a road to the south. Maybe, but he could not be sure. If it was close, he could carry her there. But just as she was savaged by the battle, so was he tired and worn out. Ignore the battle and the broken arm, creating so many things in the recent days had left him with just enough energy to not pass out.

Rescue would have to come from somewhere else. It took all of his effort to just stay awake. Taking note of how cold her hands were, he stretched his good hand over her and wove a blanket to cover her. Thermal blanket, the kind that would keep her warm and dry. His muscles screamed in agony from the effort; blood dripped down his upper lip and soured his mouth. The blanket draped over her like a protective shroud. He held out long enough to finish it and tuck it against her side before he passed out.

...

Last time he checked, the ground didn't rock. Luke opened his eyes slowly, letting himself ease back into consciousness. The sun was up and low in the sky. There was something soft under his head and a blanket over him. It wasn't a pillow, too solid for that, but he accepted the offering for what it was. Craning his head to the side, he let his eyes refocus and took in what he could.

They were on a boat. The pilot cabin was out of his sight, but he recognized the white panels and the familiar layout. Marko's speedboat. The ginger Irishman.

His voice failed him. Rising to a sitting position, he took stock of his own body and found that his pockets had been stripped. The Irishman was kneeling on the far side of the boat, looming over Charlotte. There was an opened first aid kit at his side.

"You're awake" the man called out. Luke shifted the blanket aside and pulled himself to his feet. His head swam and he had to hold onto the side of the boat for balance.

"You found us?"

"Aye, put a tracker on your jacket when you first were on my little one. Took a while to get to you 'cause I had to dodge the feds."

Luke refrained from patting down his jacket, but he did work his way up the ship. Bailey had removed the bandages on Charlotte's back and replaced them. Judging by the used up containers scattered about the deck he had coated her in disinfectants and other things. A used up IV tube lay to the side as well.

"So, who is this kid? I didn't see her up top, and I ain't seen her around before."

"She's the wolf."

"Is she now?" Bailey sat back on his heels and crossed himself. "Now I feel bad for calling her a bitch. How old is she?"

"Nineteen."

"Christ, that's young."

Luke slid down to a sitting position near her head. He leaned over just enough to check her eyes. They were closed, but her breathing came evenly. The Irishman had thoughtfully provided her with a blanket to cover herself where he wasn't working.

"Wild party last night" Luke said. Bailey laughed and shot Luke a knowing glance.

"I know. It isn't every night that the feds decide to bust up a yacht party. Seemed awfully inconvenient for your transaction. I mean, you're stuck with this wolf-girl still and didn't get your money. That's got to be just killer for you."

Tired as he was, Luke felt a touch refreshed by the short nap, if you could call it that. He thought it through and decided that, should he need to, he could draw his Beretta.

"I think you know that the raid was not a coincidence."

The man's smile faded, but the easiness in his body did not tighten. "Why do you think I didn't stick around, but left as soon as you went downstairs?"

"You still working for Marko?"

The Irishman shook his head. "Nah, he's had his run. Make no mistake, I'm a mercenary to the core. He had some loyalty from me, but only as much as his paychecks afforded. Heard on the radio that those won't be coming anymore, seeing as he's missing his head and all."

Luke let himself relax. He leaned back against the boat and closed his eyes. Despite the slight rejuvenation, he was still ready to pass out and take a day-long nap. He tried to focus on thinking of a way to contact Kyle. Something also had to be done about the Irishman. Turn him in? He was an accomplice and a mercenary, Luke had no doubt he had done some shady deals in the past. But he was helping them, though it might be to save his own skin.

The click of a pistol's hammer woke him up. Luke's eyes snapped straight to the barrel, hovering safely out of reach, and behind that Bailey's cold eyes.

"I'm not a fool" he said. There was no menace in his voice, only promise. "I know how these things go and I don't feel like going to jail. I'm sure you are nice folks, but my mother didn't raise me to be a trusting sop." He indicated Charlotte. "I've done as much for her as I can. She's in your hands now."

"Bailey…"

"Don't." He didn't flinch. "I'm leaving now. It'd be grand if you wouldn't come looking for me. Though, even if you did, you'd never catch me. I save your life, you save mine. We square, fed?"

Luke couldn't find himself wanting to say no. The pistol aimed at his head didn't hurt the man's answer either. Nodding slowly, he pointed to his badge. Bailey had set it down by Charlotte's head.

"SHIELD isn't federal."

"SHIELD is just as bad for our kind. Top of the morning to you."

He vanished. Just a little _phwop_ of suction-like noise and his body disappeared. Luke stared at the place where he had stood, fighting to remember what that was, _telepa… teleki… teleport… teleportation_. That's what it was. He took a deep breath. The boat engine was off and he did not feel like crawling over and trying to figure it out. A dead boat lying in the water would draw eyes, assuming they were close enough to find eyes to see them. He raised his head up and looked out over the side. There was the yacht, far off in the distance. Numerous black boat swarmed around it, a couple more patrolled the waters nearby. They were too far away to contact by shouting. He wondered if the ship had a radio, but then he would have to find the right frequency.

"To hell with this." Luke summoned his Beretta and pointed it skyward. He fired three times, evenly spaced, so that anyone who heard the first shot would have time to figure out what it was by the third shot. Charlotte woke with a start, body jerking and a half-formed cry on her lips. She looked up at him and, seeing that they were no in trouble, slumped against the deck. Luke offered a reassuring smile.

"Help's on the way, kid. How're you feeling?"

Her response was to whimper. Luke looked over and saw two of the black boats start turning their way. He fired one more shot to be safe, then let the gun fade away. He cradled his cracked arm waited. Charlotte glanced up at him as they sat in the boat, eyes watery and bloodshot. One of her hands stretched out and reached up to him, seeking comfort. Luke took that hand and squeezed it tightly. She clamped down as if her life depended on it.

"They'll be here soon. Just hang in there, kid."

She was grinding her teeth together to keep from crying. Holding her hand tight, Luke examined what he could of her wounds. Her face had been relatively unscathed except for a ring of bruising around her right eye. Both arms had little damage, mainly a couple scratches. It was her back that had suffered most of the damage. His eyes traveled along her bandages, again wondering how it had happened. It didn't match a grizzly bite.

It wasn't long before he heard the approaching boats. Someone on a speaker belted out a command to stand down and show themselves. Luke stood up with care, easing his back up the wall until he was in plain sight. There was an FBI boat approaching on either side of the ship. At least a dozen rifles were trained on the little speedboat. Luke kept his hand tight on Charlotte's.

"PREPARE TO BE BOARDED."

Luke made sure to make no sudden moves as the boats pulled alongside. One held its distance while the other came up. Three lightly armored FBI agents scrambled aboard, one going to each passenger while the third advanced to the pilot cabin. Luke refused to let go of Charlotte's hand as the man ordered him to his knees. They were firm but controlled, not moving Charlotte and avoiding Luke's injured arm. When one found his SHIELD badge and called it in, their demeanors changed completely.

"Sorry about that sir." The lead agent on the boat climbed aboard with a warm jacket over his arm. He handed it to Luke and looked at the boat. "Can't say we were expecting to find you out here. Your team is on board the yacht."

"Thanks. How'd the operation go?" Luke slipped into the jacket, finally letting go of Charlotte's hand. Two other agents were taking care of her. They moved her onto a stretcher, strapped her down, and carried her back onto the FBI boat. The lead agent gestured for Luke to join them. Two men stayed behind to bring the speedboat back to the main force.

"Didn't lose a man" he said. "The mobsters weren't so lucky. That heads up about the party going on saved lives, by the way. We went in with beanbags and stunners. No civilians were killed, though a few were hurt in the scramble."

"Marko's men?"

"We cuffed most of his inner circle. Marko was… well, I'm sure that was you. The big one that we're missing is his bodyguard, Leroge."

"Let me guess." Luke leaned against the pilot cabin. "Six-foot-humongous, built like a WWE wrestler?"

"That'd be him. You take care of him too?"

"I wish. He's a…" Luke paused and looked at the man. Being outside of the loop he had no idea how much the man was keyed in on. "A tough bastard."

"Yeah well, that's what happens when you let mutants run loose. They end up on the wrong side of the law and make ordinary human's jobs a living hell."

"Ah." Luke kept a straight face. "That they do."

The agent shrugged. "You have much experience with them?"

"What, with mutants?" Luke thought about it and shook his head. "Not really. This whole thing is kind of new to me."

The fact that he could be honest with the man helped take away any pangs of guilt at lying. Even if he had been tempted to feel guilty, it was pretty ballsy and prejudiced of the man to make such a blanket statement regarding mutants. Luke didn't have the energy to lie or debate the ethics of mutants anyway. He accepted a sling from one of the agents and slid down into the corner. He was glad this operation was over. If someone asked him to do one more thing he would break something.


	9. A little school in Salem

**Author's Note: So I am actually quite a bit further along in this story then I have published, but the 40k stuff has been taking up my time. Figured I would sit down for an evening and update this since it has been getting some consistent viewing. Hopefully I will be more consistent about catching up with this story.  
**

* * *

**_New York_**

Long, quiet solo car rides were the closest thing Luke knew of to meditative bliss. After being recovered by the FBI team and reunited with Kyle and Sahara, things had spiraled into the endless red tape and paper stacks that came with a live-fire operation. Kyle shoved most of the work over to Marti, but even so, it had been draining. Charlotte was moved to intensive care for treatment; she was recovering now, but it would be a few days until they could move her. In addition to the shapeshifting she appeared to have an accelerated healing factor. Not enough for it to be noticeable, but her rate of recovery was spectacular.

He checked his Ipod and replayed the recording. During one of her more lucid moments he had asked her about the bite.

...

_Those teeth marks, it was a shark that got you in the water._

_ Shark… the man from the yacht. He chased you into the water. Had to save you._

_ How did you get away? Wolves can't swim that well._

_ Didn't go in… a wolf. Told'ya I could do dolphins, remember?_

_ And that's how you got bit?_

_ Not used to swimming. I was… didn't know where I was. He got me when I was pulling you up._

_ Why'd you do it? You could have let me go, didn't have to follow me in if he chased me._

There was a pause there, one he remembered too clearly. Her heart rate had spiked and she started choking. The nurses got her under control.

_I'll let you rest, kid. You did good out there._

_ Don't!_

She had grabbed his hand. He hadn't found the will to pull away.

_Please, don't leave me. I don't want to be alone. They always leave. The men with the cards come and take them away. Don't leave._

Crying. Her tears had flowed freely. Luke had stayed with her until she fell asleep again.

_I don't want to be alone_. _The men with the cards keep coming._

...

Kyle and Sahara had stayed behind with her. Luke was on his way back to report in to SHIELD. It had been a two-one vote; he had wanted to stay. Both of his teammates had been against it though, for more reasons than he could defend against. Of all the team, he needed the most downtime. His body was the most beat up, the most damaged. He was the team leader, and it was his responsibility to keep SHIELD in the know. There was one other reason, one that he could see more clearly now that he was away.

Charlotte was a severely damaged girl. Whatever physical, emotional, psychological trauma she had suffered, it left her deeply impressionable. He had been with her only a short time but, as Sahara was updating him, he had left a pretty strong impression. She asked for him almost on the hour, and his not being there was affecting her. Sahara reported that she was experiencing minor panic attacks. It was better for her that he keep his distance for now. She would ride it out, calm down. If he had stayed, that impression might have developed into something stronger and unhealthier for her.

So now he was driving across Interstate 84 with two empty bottles of 5-Hour Energy rolling on the passenger-side floor. It was the long way to get into NYC, but he had a detour up around Scranton that he wanted to knock out while he was in the general area. Well, not in the area, but it was as good an opportunity as any. SHILD could wait for the report; the Specters were too low key right now to gather a priority in the endless list of SHIELD projects and teams. Add in that they weren't given any kind of transport fancier than a car and a van and… well, he would get around to it. Besides, they weren't exactly throwing down with heavy hitters right now.

He played the recording one more time. By now he had listened to it almost forty times. He wasn't quite sure why he kept listening, but something kept drawing him back to it. That one phrase made his skin crawl.

_The men with the cards._

It didn't sit easy with him. He thought back to Grizzly for the dozen'th time. There had been no real marks on him to speak of, nothing to identify him with a particular organization. When she said cards, did she mean the Deck? The chance of them having two random, unrelated encounters with the Deck bordered on nil. But, as Kyle liked to say, there was no such thing as coincidence in the superhuman world. Everything had a purpose, whether directly or indirectly shaped. If no one else had heard of the Deck before, and they had hit them twice now, maybe that was why SHIELD had decided to form the Specters. Even if they didn't know it themselves. Of even if someone knew it. A conspiracy theorist would be telling him that SHIELD worked for the Illuminati or some crazy crap like that.

_The men with the cards._

It sounded like something out of a SyFy British TV show. He tried to make a connection, tried to think through how they could be related, and gave up. It was something he had gone over more than a few times in the long drive. If there was anything to draw on, he would need a desk, computers, writing material, and someone with a lot more information than he had.

His fuel gauge hovered dangerously close to _Empty_. Luke glanced down at it, gauging the mileage, and decided against pushing it. He had just missed the rest area before Middletown. Within a couple miles he would have some options.

Turning the recording off, he switched back to some old fashioned rock music and let his mind drift off. There were not many cars on the road. It was the middle of the week, two hours before the rush. It made for a nice, relaxing drive. He sang along as he looked for the right sign.

_Carry on my wayward son.  
There'll be peace when you are done.  
Lay your weary head to rest…_

He eased off I-84 and started searching. North Star Petrol was the closest. He winced at the price. $5.94 a gallon. The many superhero crises were skyrocketing the price of oil. At least he could get it reimbursed. Swallowing the screaming pain from his wallet, he filled up his tank and pulled it over. His stomach was growling and the 5-hour energy was wearing off. Another round of energy-boosters would keep him going until he got to Manhattan.

The store was relatively quiet when he strode in. A handful of customers browsed the aisles, mostly appearing very ordinary. One caught his attention, a stooped and furtive kid with a concealing winter jacket. He kicked around in the rear of the store. Luke kept an eye on him, watching to see if he would be trouble. Nothing more than a punk kid, he decided as he looked through the soda rack. Two 5-hour energies in a short period pushed his limits. A simple soda would do the trick.

Just to be safe, he grabbed two. As he moved to the counter he began checking his wallet for a $5 bill. The kid came up to his side, not talking to him, but hovering as if trying to blend in. Luke considered addressing the kid, but his attention was stolen when the doors of the store opened and a crowd of five men shuffled in. He spent a moment looking them over, just out of curiosity.

They smelled like trouble. Each man wore a surly expression and a red band around his arm. They were not particularly uniformed or tough-looking, but a mob of five men could cause some serious chaos. The storefront's atmosphere darkened as they looked at the other customers. One of them barked an order and they split up. One approached Luke at the counter.

"You're not from around here" the man growled. Luke tipped his head.

"If being an outsider is a crime around here, you should reconsider having an Interstate exit."

The man huffed and shoved a meaty finger in Luke's chest. Luke felt anger start to flow, but he choked it down. He was really not in the mood to put up with this. His gut instinct was screaming to shove his Beretta in the man's face, flash a badge, and tan the hide of all five of the thugs. But he also did not have the energy to do that.

"Funny guy, huh? Well, I've got a question for you. We heard there's a mutant in town. You seen him?"

"Any reason why I should tell you, assuming I knew anything? What's it to you?"

"Where are you from?" The man took a step back as if shocked. "We're the Purifiers."

Luke wracked his memory for the name. _Purifiers:_ an anti-mutant grassroots organization spreading out of New England. Utterly radical, believed that mutants were akin to demons and a punishment on mankind. Cult leaders encouraged them to form vigilante gangs and hunt mutants down. They were the root of the latest and most ugly of the secular-sacred conflict. The whole thing was stupid, and angered Luke. Godless morons that used God as an excuse to lash out at people that were different. He would not have shed a tear if someone went to town on these false-religionists.

"Last I checked, the Purifiers aren't a recognized or legal organization. And being a mutant isn't a crime, so I really don't think you have any grounds here, bub. Now, do you mind? I'm trying to buy a drink and get back on the road."

The man did not appear impressed by his challenge. He drew a heavy chain from his belt. It was only about four feet long, but the loops might have weighed a couple pounds each. A trained man could do all kinds of damage with that. But this man wasn't trained. He held it inexpertly, and purely for bluster as far as Luke could tell. The movement was not overtly hostile, but it did convey a warning. "I don't you're your tone, stranger. You gonna be a problem?"

"Depends." Luke got no farther. One of the others walked up behind the kid and placed a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder. The kid started in surprise and tried to pull away, but the man was stronger and held him in place.

"This your boy?" The man's voice was dark and a little slurred. He had probably been drinking. Luke spent a moment examining the man, noting how slow and heavy his movements were. Frigging drunks. They couldn't even muster the balls to do this crap sober. Showed how wrong they knew they were. Wrong, but too cowardly to admit it.

His attention dropped to the kid. The kid stared up at him with pleading eyes, silently asking for help. This was the mutant they were looking for, Luke realized that in an instant. His first and only clue needed were the kid's eyes. His irises were jagged-shaped and colored like granite. The skin around his eyes appeared to be rock as well, though it faded back to human tone within a couple millimeters. Hardly noticeable unless up close.

Luke sighed and looked back at the sodas on the counter. So much for a quick pit stop.

"Remove your hand before I remove it for you" Luke ordered. The men exchanged a look and laughed.

"You see, I don't think this is your kid. The mutie we're looking for is about his age, and don't got no family. I think this one's the one we're looking for. What'd ya think, Quincey?"

He knocked the kid's hood back. He kid gasped and shrank against the counter, facing the man. His eyes glowed and contracted to pinpricks. The man took a likewise step back, face going slack for a moment as he realized that he was actually right. Luke assumed that meant these men were merely talk; they liked to parade around and show their muscles, but heaven forbid they actually have to fight. Just a band of grownup bullies. It wouldn't be much of a fight.

"We got him" the called Quincey called out. His voice quavered uncertainly. The others abandoned the rest of the customers and swarmed around. The cashier, a skinny boy with too many piercings and too little respect for authority, looked at the crowd in terrified helplessness. Luke saw the wheels turning in his head and realized that he was not going to get help from him. Stuffing the sodas into his jacket pockets, he slipped the $5 over the counter and faced the Purifiers. At the very least, he would get what he came in here for.

"Listen guys, you don't want to do this indoors. You all are a little excited, and things could get messy. How about we walk outside and resolve this peacefully."

"He's a mutie" Quincey scowled. Out of all of them, he appeared the most ready to fight. He also appeared to be the drunkest of the five. Swinging his piece of chain in a vertical arc, he jabbed his other fist at the boy. The boy was trembling and trying to press through the counter. The rocky quality around his eyes was expanding, growing to cover his whole face. "He doesn't deserve that."

"Kid" Luke nudged him with his elbow. The kid flinched. "What's your name?"

"Danny."

"Right, Danny." Luke patted his shoulder. "Stick tight."

Flashing his badge would not get him anywhere. These fools were spoiling for a fight, and it wouldn't look good to see a report of a self-identified SHIELD agent ripping into civilians. He did not expect a good escape without a scrap either, so his best bet was to move fast. Danny put a hand on his shoulder and Luke moved. He did not give the men the benefit of the doubt. He swept up his coat in a flourish that set all of the men back on their heels. Following it up with a series of closed-fist smacks, he cleared a way to the door and barreled outside. Danny was close on his heels, head ducked and covered as he dodged through the flailing men. Chaos broke loose as the men stumbled about and regained their bearings.

"In the Crown Vic" Luke shouted. Danny threw himself into the passenger seat as Luke worked the key. The men were piling out of the gas station with a torrent of curses and shouts. Someone produced a handgun and fired. The first couple shots missed, but then a round punched through the rear window and sent glass flying through the car.

"Damn it!" Luke threw the car into reverse and sent the car hurling back at the men. They scrambled for cover. A solid thump against the rear of his car told him he hit someone. Luke did not feel sorry. He pulled out of the station and got them back on the Interstate before the men could get to their cars. He kept the pedal to the metal until they were five miles down the road and clear of any signs of pursuit.

"Well, got to love the locals" Luke said, his eyes glued to the rearview mirror. He chanced a look down at the kid and smiled. The adrenaline was fading, and he had to admit he had enjoyed the short bit of the scrap. It was good to have a fight without calling up his powers. Reminded him of the bar fights he had been in before. "How're you doing, Danny?"

"Not so good." Danny's voice was strained and weak. Pain laced it, and Luke knew something was wrong. Luke grabbed his shoulder and pushed him back for a better look. The kid was clutching his gut, blood soaking his jacket. There was a bullet hole in the passenger door. Danny leaned forward again and looked up at Luke. "Oh, I'm not feeling so good right now."

"Right." Luke pulled out his phone. The line rang once before getting picked up.

"Marti here."

"GPS me now. I need the nearest hospital as quick as you can."

"On it." He could hear keys clacking on the other side. "I-84… eastbound past Middletown. Okay, you're going to have to turn around as soon as-"

"Can't turn around. I'm getting the hell out of Dodge right now."

"Oh." There was a pause on the keys. "Is there someone in the car with you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Teenage kid, scruffy brown hair, funny eyes?"

"Yes…" Luke shot Danny a look. His face as a little pale, but he had put on a brave face. He had shoved one of the cold soda bottles against the wound.

"Oh. Oh, you've landed yourself in the hot place, my friend. That kid is-"

"Is nursing a gunshot wound right now in the passenger seat of my car, Marti. Get me a damn hospital!"

"You don't want to send that kid to a hospital right now. There's this religious group out in that region called the Purifiers"

"_Gunshot_, Marti. Where do you think it came from?"

"Right. Well, his face just got plastered across the web as a fugitive. If you send him into a hospital I'd bet money they'd have someone on the lookout for him. Not to mention, his eyes are a giveaway and I could see hospitals turning him out. That region isn't particularly fond of-"

"Jesu-" Luke caught himself. He took a deep breath to calm himself, for Danny's sake. When he felt he could control his voice he spoke again. "Give me my options."

"Well… this will be interesting."

"Give me a location, Marti."

"There's a place in Salem that will be safe for him. I think it's fair to war-"

"Put it in my GPS already."

Marti made a noise that was akin to a sigh. "Inputting it now. This place is a secret mutant haven. It's not on any official records, and SHIELD denies that it exists."

"It's SHIELD?"

"Absolutely not. SHIELD is forbidden from going near it."

"Then what is it? Does it have a hospital?"

"According to the dossier, there are premier-level medical services there. It's a hidden-in-plain-sight kind of thing. Set itself up as a school, but really it's a place where young mutants can develop their powers in peace and quiet. The place is basically its own community. They've got state of the art medical facilities, academics, athletics, and even-"

"Okay, that doesn't sound so bad." Luke offered Danny a reassuring smile. Danny groaned and put his head against the dash. He switched out the soda bottles. "How far?"

"You'll be there soon. Keep going at your speed and you won't have but a few minutes."

The GPS system blinked and the route slid onto the screen. Luke checked it and confirmed the address. "Got it. Thanks, Marti."

"One more thing, Chief."

"Yeah?"

"The guy who runs this place, he's one of the most powerful of our kind on the planet. He's an Alpha-class mutant with a battle-ready team at his command. Please try to place nice."

"Name?"

"Charles Xavier."

Luke felt his heart skip a beat. He pulled away from his phone and stared at it. His eyes darted to the GPS and he clicked the button that filtered the address. _Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters_.

"Chief, you there?"

"Marti." Luke felt his throat quaver. "Are you sending me to meet the X-Men?"

**_New York, Salem_**

Danny was not doing well. Luke was flying down the road, hitting almost 30 over the speed limit on the straight-aways, lights blazing. There was absolutely no sense of subtlety in his driving. He saw the fences and gates approaching in a blur. For a moment he eased off the gas to slow down for the gate. Then he saw them start to crawl open. A lone motorcycle rolled out, rider unhelmeted and wearing no protective gear. Luke punched the gas and dove through the opening. He saw a flash of black hair and a cigar as he passed the rider. The gates were starting to close, but he swerved his Crown Vic and slid through just in time. The School had a long, semi-circular entrance. He hit the brakes on the way, but there was nothing slow about their speed until he slammed the brake and sent the car skidding to a halt with the passenger seat almost flat against the front steps.

There were a dozen or so people near the entrance. They scattered in fear as Luke stormed out of the car and rushed to Danny's side. He pulled the kid out carefully, mindful of his stomach and his blood-soaked jeans. One kid stood by the door, frozen in indecision at the sight of the man with a terribly angry face and carrying a bleeding kid.

"Open the door please" Luke growled. The kid nearly leapt out of his skin. He threw the door open and rushed inside, shouting something unintelligible. Luke followed him in, eyes scouring the entryway for a clue as to where to go.

It must have been in the middle of a class break, because there were dozens of kids on the stairwell and in the entryway. Almost every eye was drawn to him as Luke stalked into the middle of the lobby and looked around. All kids, no adults.

"I need a doctor" Luke thundered. His voice broke the spell of silence like a gong. The kids exploded into motion, some rushing upstairs, others down, others disappearing one way or another as if afraid he would attack them. A double-door room to his left burst open and a man with ruby-colored glasses and a black polo shirt rushed out. More adults came running around the opposite corner: a dark-skinned woman with shockingly white hair; a younger redhead with a bulky first aid kit slung over her shoulder; a blue-furred man with the build of a silverback gorilla.

Despite the urgency of the situation, Luke felt his knees buckle. He looked from one face to the next, cataloguing them all in an instant. Some he recognized, some he did not. But he knew who they were. They were the X-Men. He was in the presence of the heroes who saved New York City.

"I need a doctor" he repeated, softer this time. The dark-skinned woman motioned for him to lay the kid on the floor. Luke did reluctantly, encouraged when a warm voice flooded through his mind.

_Do not worry yourself. We will take care of him._

"How did you…" Luke shut his mouth when he realized that only he had heard that. The redhead nodded solemnly and began digging through her kit. He took a step back, clearing the room around Danny as more adults appeared and crowded around him. The man with the glasses, ridiculously unfashionable things, stood in front of him with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Who are you" the man demanded. Luke held up a hand to cut off further questions. He watched the women go to work on Danny. They moved with surety and skill. After a moment he decided they knew what they were doing.

"My name is Luke Kapra. I'm an agent of Shi-"

The doors behind him exploded inwards. Luke spun on his heel, instinct kicking in at the unexpected explosion of wood and muscle. Something heavy slammed into him, driving him into the ground with the force of an anvil. The wind was knocked straight out of his lungs, but he kept his senses enough to draw a Beretta.

It was the motorcycle guy. The cigar was gone, but his breath reeked of tobacco and the wild black hair could not be mistaken. It wasn't those features that caught Luke's attention though, but the three shiny claws extending from his hand, hovering just millimeters from his throat.

"_SHIELD_" the mutant growled. There was a whole lot more menace in that voice than made Luke comfortable. This guy sounded more like an animal than a human. "What are you doing here, goon?"

"You might want to back off" Luke warned. He cocked the Beretta for emphasis. The mutant gave his pistol a dismissive glance.

"Wouldn't but make me angry. Answer the question."

"Logan, stop that."

The redhead had looked up and called his name. The mutant responded almost instantly. He rose on his knees, still pinning Luke down, and he stared hard at the woman. Luke kept his Beretta trained on the man's head. Tension poured out of that man. He glared down at Luke as if considering going back down at him, but chose the other option. When he stood up he sniffed down at Luke. Luke got up on his own. No one offered to help.

"I'm Luke Kapra, SHIELD agent. My job has nothing to do with me being here. I found the kid in Middletown and pulled him out of a scrap with a gang of Purifiers."

Logan snarled at the name. Luke shot him a sidelong glance and continued. "He was wounded as we got away. I brought him here for help. I don't want to impose, but you were the only option I had. If you can take care of him, then that's all that matters."

"Jean" red-glasses said. She looked up from Danny and stared at Luke for a moment. Then she agreed. Satisfied, he extended a hand. "I'm Scott Summers. Sorry about Logan."

Logan made a grunting noise that told Luke he was not sorry and wasn't about to apologize either.

Luke shook Scott's hand but didn't bother with a 'good to meet you.' His attention turned when a sixth adult appeared at the top of the stairs. Maybe it was because he was coming off a couple days' worth of exhaustion, or maybe it was something about her, but the sight of her struck Luke like a hammer blow. The woman was a vision of Nordic perfection. Skin so pale and unblemished it looked true white, platinum-blonde hair streaming down her shoulders and back, clothed in white leather pants and a matching-color halter top that would have made her grandmother have a stroke. Her lips and eyes were a uniform shade of pale blue, as if she had found the perfect lipstick to match those irises that reminded him of the frozen tundra. Luke stared far longer than he should have. The woman returned his stare without emotion, except maybe a smug curl of her lip.

_You come uninvited, agent of SHIELD_.

He blinked in surprise, recognizing a different voice than before. It carried a smooth, sultry tone that tickled his senses with all kinds of feeling he was not expecting. He flinched. This time the woman truly did smile, though it was not a nice smile. It was a predator's smile, a dangerous one. Just the right amount of huskiness to insinuate a whole lot of things that weren't actually there. Very distracting, and very deadly.

_Yes, you can hear me._

Choosing to forego any little games, Luke addressed it directly. He did not care how rude it sounded. "How many mind-speakers do you have here?"

"Telepaths, dear." Her audible voice was just as sexy as her mental one. Luke looked away, chiding himself for paying her too much attention. He let his gaze wander across the others. Scott watched him impassively.

"That's a fancy word."

"Don't condescend to us, agent. We know you're a mutant like us." She gestured toward his hands. "Quite an impressive trick, creating weapons out of thin air. I'm sure that SHIELD utilizes that for _someone's_ good."

"Emma" the redhead caught her attention. "Some help please."

"Oh, dearie me." The blonde's smile faded. She stood over Danny with a disapproving look. "Nasty. Step aside, Ororo. Let me in."

Luke maintained a respectful distance as they worked. Once they got Danny stabilized the furry one picked him up and carried him away, along with Ororo and the redhead. Luke stayed put, waiting for them to give him permission to follow. None of them appeared ready to offer it.

"So… you're the X-Men."

"SHIELD has been told to stay away from here" Scott said. His displeasure with the situation seemed more pronounced now that the some of the others had left. Luke found himself wondering which one had tempered his attitude. It didn't matter, he decided quickly.

"Didn't have many options." Luke refused to be intimidated. "Danny was bleeding out, and the Purifiers sprayed his name and face through the county; taking him to a hospital would have earned him another attack. It was the best I could do on a short notice."

"How did you know where to find us?"

"I… uh…" Luke shrugged. "You're in our database apparently? It was put into my GPS."

"See" Logan snapped. "Told you we can't trust them. Those tossers are keeping us in their sights."

"Hey." Luke frowned. "I'm standing right here."

"Yeah?" Logan shot him a disinterested sneer. "So you are."

"Alright, Logan, enough." Scott motioned to the room he had come from. "The Professor is in Washington right now meeting with Congress. That leaves me the senior teacher in charge. Would you like a drink?"

"Water would be nice." Luke swallowed, and realized his throat was dry. He accepted the invitation to enter the office. It was well furnished, with leather seats, wall-to-wall bookshelves, and a pleasing green-brown color palette. The instant he sat down he felt his body de-stressing. Logan did not follow them in. It was just him and Scott.

"I apologize for Logan. He's not a fan of governments and agencies."

"He's not the only one." Luke accepted the glass of chilled water and started sipping his way through it. It felt glorious on his throat. "And again, I am sorry to have to intrude. This whole thing was a string of coincidence, more or less. I wasn't even supposed to be in the region. Just took a detour, stopped at a gas station, and found the kid about to be torn apart by a mob of fanatics."

"That kind of thing happens more and more every year." Scott nodded. "At least you got him here alive. Jean and Emma are not medical doctors, but they are highly trained and have experience in the field."

"I can imagine. I'm new to this whole mutant thing, just found out I was one about half a year ago. But, after hearing about that showdown you had at Ellis Island, I figure we get in a bit tougher scrapes than the average Joe."

"Sometimes." Scott motioned around. "Our primary aim here is schooling. We help train young mutants to harness and control their powers."

"A good aim."

A couple of peeking eyes appeared at the corners of some of the windows. When Luke glanced their way they pulled back and disappeared. He could almost hear the whispering.

"Honestly, and I have to admit I don't know jack about this place, I can't see why people would be bothered by this. Sure, mutants aren't _human_" he made the finger quotes. "But at the very least, even if the assumption about mutants being dangerous was right, wouldn't it be in their best interests for mutants to learn how to control their powers? I mean, a safetied gun is better than a loo…"

He stopped talking when he noted the restrained glare feeding from Scott's mouth. Luke quickly explained.

"Mutants should be their own safeties. Let me get that clear, the only reason I took this job with SHIELD was to protect against the specifically 'bad ones.' Guys like Magneto who go around wrecking things and trying to kill people."

"That doesn't mean it's the government who should control who is the 'bad' and who is the 'good.'"

"Sure." Luke shrugged again. "But it's what it is right now. The kid is here and safe. My job is done, and I can be on my way."

"You can." Scott inclined his head towards the door. "But it's getting late. If you'd like, you can spend the night. We may not be friends of SHIELD, but we're not ungracious hosts."

"I can accept that. It's been a long week."

To be honest, a real bed would do him wonders. Despite the energy boosters he was still feeling weak from the battle in New Orleans. That whole operation had been a serious drain on his powers. He had pushed past his known limits and barely pulled it out alive. A pillow and a soft mattress would go a long way to helping him recover.

"One of the others will find you a staff room to sleep in. Dinner will be served at six, if you would care to join us."

He checked his watch. An hour. "Thank you. I will see you there."

"For now, if you could please pull your car around to the garages. Miss Pryde!"

A fresh-faced highschooler peeked into the room. Luke tried to guess her age but gave up; the little-kid pony tails in her hair made her look no more than fifteen, but she carried herself like an older teen.

"Yes Scott?"

"Can you show Agent Kapra to the garage?"

"Sure thing."

As Luke rose Scott caught his attention. "Agent Kapra?"

"Yes?"

"Try to stay out of trouble, and leave our kids alone."

Luke thought about it, nodded, and left the room.

_**Xavier Institute**_

The staff had their own kitchen. One or two staff ate with the kids every day, partly to ensure there was no fighting, and partly to build relationships with the kids. Luke counted the faces as they entered.

Scott, Ororo, Hank the furry one, and Emma. They more or less acknowledged him as they set about preparing. With nothing to offer, Luke stood back and watched. Whatever it was they were cooking, it smelled good. He found a job in setting the tableware.

"Dr. McCoy" Luke found himself hesitating as he looked at the man. His blue-furred form was not that unusual, especially considering one of his teammates was a cat-person. What unnerved him was that he had seen the name before on some pretty Einsteinian-level papers. He had always assumed that the Dr. McCoy was just a really smart human. The truth, while not disturbing, threw him for a loop.

"Yes, Agent?"

"You work in conjunction with the Joint Chiefs regarding mutant affairs, correct?"

"I have been called to testify before them in the past." He had a kindly face, almost like a grandfather's. "Particularly now. SHIELD has used my services before too. Independent of X-Men relations, of course."

"Ah, I wouldn't know." Luke concentrated on placing the silverware. "I'm pretty new to all of this."

"I know. You had quite a career in the military."

The others were paying attention to the conversation. Not in a snoopy way, but they weren't exactly holding a private chat. Luke kept that in mind as he spoke.

"Spent a good amount of time in the Army. It was a good job."

"You've killed then."

Luke had to bite down a bitter laugh. "You can't go too long in the Special Forces before having to pull the trigger. But yes, I've killed. And I don't think it's that awful of a choice. When you're staring down the barrel of your rifle looking at the scumbag you know wouldn't hesitate to blow up a market full of women and children, it's not a hard choice."

"Is that how you see mutants?" Hank stood across the table from him. After thinking it through Luke looked up at met his gaze.

"I'd rather protect a life than take one. Every man I've killed was to save someone else. If the death can be avoided, I'd rather take that route."

"But you haven't always, have you?"

Luke took his time turning to face Emma. She stood to the side, a dish in her hand and that obnoxious smirk on her lips.

"Hank isn't the only one who's read up on you."

"I'm flattered that you spent the time on me." Luke kept the edge out of his voice with some effort. "Although I take it Dr. McCoy's research was less.. invasive."

She made no move to deny it. That confirmed his suspicion. He had been feeling a slight buzzing in his head earlier. "You've done some nasty things for the Army."

"You must be an expert about field decisions" he snapped.

"We handle similar circumstances. Yours were not so different, though your choices certainly were."

The smugness in her tone grated against his ears. Luke returned to his work, zoning her out, and fought down the irritation. Throwing down with other superhumans wasn't the same thing as spilling blood in the opium fields of Afghanistan.

"Easy, Emma." Scott strode in with the rest of the food. "Let's try to have a civil meal here. Agent Kapra is a guest."

"We didn't invite him." She shot Luke a nasty look. Luke ignored her.

"But you will treat him as a guest. That means you behave yourself. Don't forget that you are here on probation."

She soured at that reminder. Luke filed that tidbit away and sat down as the others did. Most of the meal occurred in an uneasy silence. There was small talk, but it was short and choppy. Luke had a feeling they were going out of their way to not talk about the school with him around.

"Did you hear about that FBI raid in New Orleans?" Emma shot Luke a pointed glare. He feigned indifference, just to spite her.

"I've been in the car a lot over the past few days."

"Well, they took down a well-connected mob boss. Had a shootout on his private yacht. Did _something useful_."

"Ah, sounds useful." Luke let his gaze wander to the others. Hank was suppressing a grimace. "I take it people died?"

"The news has been limited from the site, but we have a friend down there who said the raid was orchestrated by some federal agents, mutants."

"Huh, imagine that. I didn't know the feds were using mutants." Luke shrugged.

Scott frowned. "They don't. At least, we don't know of any federal mutant teams, and between Hank and the Professor we are pretty in the know. If anything, they're fanatically anti-mutant."

"I know, right?" Luke patted his chest. "They couldn't get rid of me fast enough. What does that mean though? Mutants working alongside the government. That could get hairy."

"Only if they're targeting humans. Someone made a really… unhelpful move in using mutants in an assault on ordinary humans." Scott sighed. "The last thing we need it rumors that the government has formed mutant hit squads."

"Yeah, unless it wasn't the government."

They all looked at him. Luke let the suspicion and surprise sink in for a moment. He allowed himself a little shrug.

"That was my team" he told them.

"You initiated that bloodbath?" Emma scoffed. She shoved her plate away. "Nice of you to let mass-killers in for dinner, Scott. I think I'm finished here."

"If you knew the kind of people Don Marko had surrounded himself with, you wouldn't be so high-and-mighty." Luke took a deliberate bite. "He ran drugs and guns like nobody's business. We were saving a mutant too, by the way. Young kid, 'bout nineteen. If it wasn't for us she'd be dead."

"No, she's instead like your friend Danny?"

Luke started to say something but thought better of it. Turning to Hank, he asked for his opinion. "The operation busted a man who was specifically targeting a mutant."

Hank tipped his head at the point. He did not appear pleased nonetheless. "Still, the fact remains that mutants were used to attack ordinary humans."

"Marko had his own mutants" Luke countered. "Besides, isn't the world full of bad guys that use lots of ordinary humans alongside our kind?"

"But as mutants we try to stay out of that realm. It only takes one rotten apple to spoil the bunch."

"Why?" Luke bristled for a reason he did not quite understand. "Why can't we get involved in saving the world?"

"Perhaps because the world does not want to be saved." Ororo spoke, for the first time in his hearing. She had a quiet, strong voice. It was the voice of someone who had seen much good and bad in the world. Luke found himself listening intently.

"What do you mean?"

"Superhumans are a recent phenomenon, and a growing one. Ordinary people, they cannot understand what it is to be so different. They would rather trust in what they know and understand to protect themselves. To them, we are outsiders, and humankind has always been afraid of the outside. Since our earliest years we have been plagued with racism, xenophobia, jingoism, and a general hatred of all things different. Mutants are the next step on the chain. We can do things that ordinary men cannot, so we should be feared."

"Humans are stubborn" Luke sighed. "And stupid sometimes."

"How were you before you discovered your mutation? Did you accept mutants, or did you fear us?"

"I…" Luke hesitated. He liked to think that he hadn't given it much thought before. He liked to think that he hadn't cared, that it was something he never worried about. So much of his time was spent overseas that life back home felt disconnected. It hadn't been something he had worried about. What he worried about were the Taliban jihadists that were trying to kill him. He hadn't even had to worry about mutants until

_"Milksop, alley is clear. You are good to proceed."_

_ "Roger that, Chief."_

_ He watched his three-man team moving across the road. It was dark out, the nightvision was working, and the Taliban sentries were about as alert as a pig at the trough. They had no idea what was coming. Setting down three miles out had been a good idea. These goons were completely unaware._

_ His sniper nudged his elbow. "Chief, that one is coming towards the trucks."_

_ "Ah hell. Milksop, get small, you've got a sentry heading your way."_

_ His team rolled under the trucks and stayed put. The sentry wandered up, head swiveling lightly as he worked his rounds. His sniper whispered that he had a shot on the man. A single sniper round or a knife in the throat. Once the shooting started they would have to take him down any way._

_ "Squishy in the brainpan" he muttered. The sniper rifle fired and the man fell. The team dragged his body under. "Clear, keep advancing."_

_ It bothered him that he was hanging back. He preferred to be up in the action, leading his men. But Command wanted him to hang back on this one. Someone had gotten spooked on the planning and wanted him to stay back. Something about losing a precious PR option in a hush-hush raid. It irked him, almost enough for him to join in anyway, but they had planned everything out and he wasn't about to throw a wrench in the operation just to soothe his ego._

_ "Sentry on the far side is near the wall. I can top him over the edge."_

_ "Go for it."_

_ The assault team finished planting charges and moved on towards the collection of houses that made the compound. Intel had the Taliban leader placed in the southeast structure. They were all small, one-story buildings; clearing them would be easy._

_ "Chief, we're on target. Ready to cover our asses?"_

_ "Engage, Milksop. Let's kill the bastard already."_

Luke hesitated. He pulled back from the scope and looked around. What was he… this was from his past. Afghanistan, the mission where his powers had emerged. Why was he-

_"Flashbang out!"_

_ The grenade went in. _Luke knew what was coming next. He rose up to his knees and opened his mouth to shout.

_ The entire house exploded. Fire spewed out of the windows, mortar and brick bloomed out in a terrible firestorm. His entire team disappeared in the fury of the explosion. Horrified, Luke started forward. His sniper grabbed at his ankle but he shook him off._

_ "Chief!"_

_ "I'm going in. Keep me covered."_

_He was sprinting for the flames. The fires did not linger; they vanished almost as quickly as they arrived. _ Why was he running? _He felt his muscles pumping, the sweat breaking out on his forehead_. But he wasn't here. This was in the past. It was over, done.

_A Taliban appeared on his left; his sniper put the man down before he could fire. Another ran out of one of the buildings straight ahead. Luke hosed him down without a second thought. His men were rolling on the ground, snuffing out the flames that clung to their gear. Men were waking up all around them. Somewhere a collection of AK's opened up._

_ "Chief, get down!"_

He wouldn't get hit. He remembered the frantic scramble, the reaction-fueled rage as their target strode out of the ashes of the building. _His traditional clothing had burned away in the blast, leaving him bright and shining in his other outfit. The brilliant scarlet jumpsuit emblazoned with the crescent moon. Faheed bin'Laden. Cousin of Osama bin'Laden. Codenamed Holy Warrior_ _by the brass. A mutant terrorist._

_The Taliban were all around him. Luke fired and fought his way through them, emptying magazines and parrying sword strikes. He killed a dozen men and more, all the while covering his men as they scrambled to their feet._

_Holy Warrior stood in front of him. Luke's blood boiled at the sight of the man, the one who was responsible for so much death. He gritted his teeth as the terrorist's eyes began to glow. The explosion was coming, but it took him time to build up. Luke lifted his hands and a shotgun slid into firing position._

_ "Burn, you fucking mutie."_

Luke stopped. Everything stopped. He looked around, vision blurred by the green-lit night vision. Scowling, he threw off the goggles. It was dark, but he could see clearly. Something here was wrong.

"Who's there?"

His voice echoed through the frozen battlefield. Lowering his hands, he watched the shotgun fade out of existence. Holy Warrior did not move, did not twitch. He waved a hand in the man's face. A whisper rustled behind him.

"Show yourself" he demanded, spinning towards the sound. Something moved just out of sight, hidden behind the bodies and the smoke.

"Don't think you can hide from me." Luke shot his hand out behind, grabbing a handhold of a thin arm. Emma took a sharp breath in surprise. For a long moment he stared at her, confused. To his credit, he did not let go as she attempted to wrench her arm free. "What. The hell. Is this?"

**_How can you see me?_** Her face twisted in disapproval. _**How can you find me in your mind?**_

"No fricking clue." Luke pulled her closer and brought the barrel of the shotgun up against her chin. "Again, what the hell is this?"

**_You hunted mutants_**. Her voice was filled with hate and disgust. **_You are no better than the Purifiers_**_._

"I hunted a monster that murdered hundreds of people!" Luke shoved her away. He gestured across the battlefield. "Three hundred people, at least. Did you see that explosion, while you were spying on my memories? He did that in crowded markets, at embassies, in a hospital. Mutant or human, he was a goddamn madman that deserved what he got."

**_What did he get? Shall we see? Shall we show the others how you killed him?_**

The battle scene resumed. Luke turned back and watched as he fired directly into Holy Warrior's face. _The shotgun pellets ripped into his face, tearing out chunks of his skull. It wasn't the pellets that killed him though. It was the fire that caught against his flesh and set his face ablaze. Holy Warrior screamed as the shotgun belched another round of flame. He felt to his knees, clawing at his face. Luke kicked him over and drew a knife. He stabbed Holy Warrior in the back once, twice, three, four…_

"Enough!"

Luke fired into his own image, banishing the memory. Emma was watching him, accusing him. He growled and forced himself to release the weapon.

**_Such hate. You cannot lie to us, agent. We can see you for what you are_**.

"The hate was for the man. I don't give a damn about his powers, or your powers, or anyone's. My job is to save lives."

**_By killing?_**

"Don't you dare judge me!" Luke swung his fist at Emma. He did not intend to hit her; never that, but she reacted. A blast of energy hurled him backwards through the battle. _Taliban soldiers fell around him, his men limped and scrambled for cover._ Emma stalked forward, banishing the images that came too close. Her eyes blazed with hate as she stood over him.

**_And you dare come to our school, to our doorstep, and claim that you are a friend. There is blood on your hands, agent. I will not let you go near our children with those-_**

"Shut up, woman." Luke kicked her legs out from under her and rolled on top. She screeched and slashed him with her nails, a pathetic move in real life. In this world, in his mind, the blow sent him flying. Luke slammed into the side of the truck. His back felt ready to break in two. Despite that, he found himself laughing. It wasn't a good kind of laugh. "Seriously, you're trying to piss me off here, with this memory?"

**_You laugh at this?_**

She was at his side in an instant, energy pulsing out of her hands. Luke was ready this time, and blocked it with his bare arms. The energy flashed against him, burning his arms, but he held his ground. When it faded he looked up and saw the hesitation in her eyes. She reared back for another strike. Luke punched.

It was not a solid punch. The angle was bad, his arm was out of position. The impact drove the wind from her lungs though, and she plowed through the next truck as if shot out of a cannon. It took her a minute to get back up.

"Thing is" he held up his hand for her to stop. His breathing came lightly. "This wasn't my first encounter with mutants. I had a few before Afghanistan. One of the CIA's best goons we used was a mutant. He saved our butts more times than I would have counted. It's not the powers that matter. It's the way they use them that I care about."

**_That's a noble crock of shit coming from a killer like you._**

"And that's a pretty steep moral high ground coming from a teacher who dresses like a Senator's one-nighter."

He tried to catch the next attack, raising his arms the same way as before. His words must have touched a deep nerve, because this kick blew straight through his defenses and cratered him into the ground. Emma's face was a mask of rage and fury as she struck him with blow after blow.

**_You sick, perverted, bloodsucking fre-_**

Luke caught her hands. He felt his blood raging in his veins. His team was near the gate now, the moment that Luke was dreading. _Twisting his head to the side, he saw the man with the RPG dropping to a knee. The rocket primed, the man squeezed the trigger._

"No!"

She didn't scream so much as she vanished. He threw her away with such force he couldn't track her flight. Throwing himself at the RPG man, he watched in helpless rage as the rocket fired. His hand passed through the rocket, wiping it from sight, but the memory remained. _The rocket exploded behind his team and they were thrown into the road._ Luke watched his head NCO, Milksop, tumbled to the ground. The rocket killed him instantly. His second man, Beefcake, ended up without a leg and paralysis in his arms. He watched their bodies fall to the ground, tossed like dolls. Two of his men, gone in an instant.

"God…" He fell to his knees. The explosion had knocked him senseless. He hadn't seen this part. Everything went dark, leaving him surrounded in black. The others had told him what happened next. The Taliban had rushed his position. _His sniper and Flapjack had tried to hold them off. Then Luke had fired with a machine gun. A machine gun from nowhere. Tore into the Taliban and left so many of them dead in the dirt. The rest had scattered and run._

The images began to return. _Luke knelt over his men, M249 smoking red hot._ He strode over to his image, the carnage vanishing as his feet touched. _Milksop and Beefcake splayed out around him._

"Damn you." He turned as the whisper grew loud again. Emma caught a fist straight in the face. It leveled her like a sack, shattering her nose and spraying blood, real blood, across his neck. Luke watched her writhe on the ground. "Damn you for making me watch this."

She stumbled to her feet, eyes watery from the pain. Lifting her hands defensively, she scowled and put on a brave face.

**_So eager to kill then. Why should you be different now?_**

"I'm not." Luke deflected her strike with ease. She followed it through with a slap that stung, but hardly hurt him. He dodged two more, finding a rhythm to her anger, and grabbed her wrist on the fifth. Intent as she was, she shrank back from the cold stare in his eyes. "But you are going to wish that I was."

She screamed when he struck her in the gut. It was an awful, breathless scream. His backhand whipped her around until her shoulder cracked. Then he hurled her to the side. She did not get back up.

This was wrong. He knew it, he knew that beneath his anger and rage that she was not to blame. No one was to blame for the ambush except the Holy Warrior. He was dead now. It was over. The pain was so real, so there, and he felt the remembered fury surging through him like the most exquisite adrenaline high. His fists trembled as he watched Emma struggled to get back up. Blood flowed freely from her mouth and nose. She was crying, and he knew that she felt near the same anger he did. Hers was misplaced. His was misplaced. There was no fight between them.

Stretching out his hand, he told her to get up. Emma shrank away, pinning to the ground. Even in her anger, he had her completely cowed. **_Get away from me you bastard. How are you able to do this? I am the power here._**

"My mind, my rules." He pulled her up against her will. She hissed in pain. Covering her mouth with one hand, he motioned for her to be quiet. "Now, how about we go back to the real world?"

**_Why should I let you back? I should destroy your mind, rid the world of your filth._**

"My filth?" He could not help but laugh. "How is it done, huh? A shock that jolts us back? Just like in that movie Inception?"

**_Do you really think it would be something as simple as that?_**

She raged against his grasp. He pinned her good arm behind her back to keep her from lashing out. The blue of her lips was smeared, runny and slick with blood. The tremor in her voice betrayed her. She couldn't lie, hurt as she was.

"Shock it is." The anger was fading, but he felt the last remnants of it course through his speech. He knew of one definitive way to earn that shock. It was not the way he wanted to do it, but more than anything he needed to get out and to the real world. He wasn't even sure if it would work. But the real world beckoned. There he could catch his bearings. There he could find something that made sense.

Emma's clothes vanished, dismissed just as he had dismissed the shadows of the Taliban. He had an idea of what lay underneath, skimpy as it was, but his imagination filled in the rest. Without even looking down though, he felt her cool body pressing against the bare skin of his forearms and he smiled. It wasn't a lecherous smile, he kept his eyes firmly on her face, but the shock of knowing that he could do that, that he could control what thoughts went through his mind, was pretty damn exciting.

Emma's reaction was not as excited. She gasped as she found herself pressing naked against him. Her mouth, bruised and bloody as it was, opened in a silent scream. Fire exploded out of her eyes and Luke…

Vomited. The chair scraped and keeled over as he rolled backwards. His stomach lurched and his dinner came spewing out. War drums slammed in his head, deafening in the otherwise relative quiet of the room. Not that it was silent. He could hardly see straight, but he saw Ororo and Scott crowding over Emma. Hank appeared above him, concern etched on his features.

"Agent Kapra!"

"You… pervert!"

Emma pulled herself up and stormed towards him. Blood smeared her upper lip and she wavered a little as she walked. None of the injuries from the battle remained though. Those must have been kept to the mind. Standing over him, she glared down at him with the same rage-filled face he saw in the memory. Her heeled-shoe rose as if she would stomp on him. Scott grabbed her by the arm and pulled her back.

"Emma, that is enough!"

She tugged against his grip but did not appear making much effort to fight it. Her mouth twisted in a grimace and she spat on Luke's shirt.

"I should flay your mind from your body and-"

"That's enough!" Scott shoved her backwards. He jabbed her in the collarbone with his finger. "You are excused, Emma. Get out of here, now."

She sputtered a protest, but Scott cut her off.

"Out, or your probationary period is over tonight. Leave while you still have a sliver of dignity left."

The anger faded, replaced by a deep scarlet blush as she looked at the others. Ororo and Hank averted their eyes. She opened her mouth to speak, but decided against it. Face flushed in embarrassment, she fled the room. Luke was not sorry to see her go.

"I'm sorry about that" Scott said. Hank helped him to his feet. It took him a minute to find his balance again. His stomach and throat burned like he had swallowed acid. "She had no right to do that."

"What, and you didn't feel like stopping her?" Luke glared at Scott. He showed no signs of remorse.

"You can't interrupt a telepathic event such as that. We weren't able to intervene, we were merely observers."

"Didn't stop me." Luke grabbed a glass of water from the table and downed it. When he was finished he set it down and shrugged. "But I guess I asked for that. Shouldn't have bothered coming by. At least SHIELD didn't try and mindfuck me."

"I said I was sorry." He nodded towards the door. "There's a reason she's on probation."

"Some probation." Luke shifted over to avoid his puke and sat down against the wall. His head sat too heavily on his neck. He had to close his eyes to avoid getting nauseous. "She does that again, and I won't go so easy on her."

No one argued his point. Hank helped him up, patting him down, and sat him in another chair. His stomach wasn't ready for more food, but Luke allowed himself to sit and recover some of the ambience of the room before the tussle.

"You saw everything that happened in there?"

Hank looked at the others before he nodded.

"Damn." Luke stared at the table. He felt a touch of heat creep up his neck. "Sorry you had to see… that."

"Well, you said you were aiming for a shock. I can't think of many things more shocking than seeing Emma have her tail handed to her, especially in the psychic realm. She is an extremely powerful telepath. The fact that you were able to go toe to toe with her is impressive. The fact that you exerted control over her is… astounding. I don't think we've ever seen something like that."

"Couldn't think of a better way to do it" Luke said. "I was more concerned with getting out of the… psychic realm or whatever you call it." His gut churned uneasily and he scowled. "I did not want to see that again."

"She could do with a blow to her pride every once in a while. Yours was quite drastic, but as you said, it got you out."

"Now I'm just worried if I should sleep with one eye open."

Scott shook his head. "She'll go sulk in her room. You have nothing to worry about."

"Good to know." Luke glanced at the food. He spent a moment debating whether or not to grab some more. He decided not to. The air of the meal had been ruined, and no one appeared keen on eating. Hank was watching him silently, not judging, but intrigued. It made him feel even more awkward in the room. It wasn't very often that someone's colleague jumped in someone's head and was stripped naked by the mind's owner. That was the kind of thing that happened in stories. Weird, freaky campfire stories.

"I think I'll go hit the sack." Luke gathered his dishes and rose. He nodded to them all. "Thank you for your hospitality."

**_Xavier Institute_**

Luke lay on the bed, eyes unfocused as he stared at the ceiling. They really didn't skimp on the staff quarters here. The bed was, in his humble opinion, a masterpiece of its kind. Soft and firm in all of the right places, a perfect balance that left him falling asleep faster than he wanted. His mind wandered and faded out of focus. It was so tempting to just pass right out.

What kept him awake was that he had the distinct feeling someone was outside the door. They couldn't be watching; the door was solid. Perhaps they were listening, or maybe using the telepathic crap. He had heard of it before, but to actually feel one in his mind, that set his nerves on all kinds of edge. The episode at dinner was not something he wanted to repeat. He never wanted that to happen ever again.

"You going to come in?"

He spoke loudly enough that anyone outside could hear. The sound of his own voice was still fading when he regretted speaking. Anyone in the hallway would hear it, and that could lead to something awkward. It wasn't that late at night, the other students might be about. Sighing to himself, he pulled himself out of bed and headed for the door. At the last second he remembered to throw a shirt on. After getting on the wrong side of half the staff here, the last thing he needed was to open up the door on an unsuspecting teenager while shirtless.

Rapping the door once, he pulled it open. The last person he expected to see stood at the door. The telepath stood in front of him, sullen and angry. Her earlier stripper-gear was gone. Now she wore a fancy silk robe. Luke hesitated. His mind went instinctively to the defensive, though he had absolutely no idea how to defend against a mental attack.

"What do you want?"

"Shut up." She pushed past him and into the room. Luke shut the door behind her, caught between disbelief and intrigue.

"So, you here to apolo-"

She shoved him against the wall. For a woman of her size, she packed a serious punch. Luke's hand went up to her throat in an instant. What came next was even more unexpected.

Luke had been kissed before. Usually he did the kissing, and it had always been on friendly circumstances. The savagery with which Emma assaulted his mouth was neither. She bit and pressed, drawing blood. Luke pushed her off and drew his Beretta. That gave her pause.

"What is your problem?"

Emma brushed his pistol aside and snaked in for another kiss. To his dismay, Luke found himself not resisting. This was a less aggressive kiss, though one that still had him fighting to keep her teeth away from his flesh. A throaty chuckle worked its way out of her throat.

"You can't lie to a telepath, agent Kapra." Her eyes twinkled maliciously. "I felt what was going through your head when you pictured me naked. Read it from the instant you gaped at me on the stairwell."

"It was a shock, that was all." Luke held her at arm's length. His pistol disappeared, but he did not relax his guard. When she took a step back and slipped her robe from her shoulders he found even that excuse wouldn't float. His imagination hadn't come close to doing justice for her pale, perky breasts. Luke found himself staring again, for the second time that day.

"Just… a shock?" She shrugged out of the robe and eased past his arm. Luke stood powerless, unable to find the will to push her away. She stood on her toes and kissed his ear. "It takes a lot of power to defeat me in the psychic plane. You are no telepath, but you have power. I. Like. Power."

"Is that what you like?" Luke could barely force the words out of his mouth. What the hell had happened to the angry out-for-blood bitch that had mindfucked him earlier that evening?

"I could leave" she said, voice gaining a sharp and snappish tone. Luke protested before he could catch himself. That mirthless smirk flowed across her lips and she cupped his jaw in her hands. "No? I thought so."

She leaned in for another, deeper kiss. He wasn't sure what happened next, but they stopped when her legs bumped into the bed. Giving him a moment to breathe, she pulled his hand down to the small of her back. She shivered in his arms.

"How can you do it" she demanded, eyes burning with emotions that he found he wasn't sure he liked. "What are you that you can draw upon such raw psychic power?"

Luke had no idea what she was talking about. His cluelessness did not dissuade her. A throaty chuckle emerged from her lips and she began tugging his shirt up over his shoulders.

"You must be a terrible example to your students" he managed to sputter. The words sounded horribly lame, and he knew he probably shouldn't be speaking at this point. He grunted in surprise as she spun him around. It was a deft maneuver, hooking his foot and using his own weight to throw him. She followed him down onto the bed, climbing on top of him and pinning him down before he could recover. Her grin was wicked through and through.

"Just terrible." She leaned down and nipped at his throat. "But you know what I'm good at? They never question who the authority is. You see, Agent Kapra. I am _always_ in charge."


	10. Homecoming

**_Xavier Institute_**

His phone was ringing. Luke sighed as the soft, insistent buzzing raged through the silent room. This bed as not something he wanted to get up from. His companion supported that line of thought, curling up against him with a luxurious groan. Good God her feet were cold. He reached past her and grabbed his phone from the nightstand. Emma slapped lazily at his hand as he took the call.

"Kapra."

"Jesus Luke, you gave us a bit of a scare." Kyle did not sound amused. "Pick up your damn phone."

"I just did."

Emma pushed against his shoulder. He rolled back and sat up, giving her room as he settled into business mode.

"On the third try. Listen, we have some news. The kid is stable and her recovery has got her weeks ahead of schedule. I think she'll be out and about in a couple days."

"Okay, that's good. Is that what made you so worried?"

"No, it's the fact that some shit went down in New York yesterday and we got a call from Agent Hill demanding to know what the hell was going on with the New Orleans report. What's the deal, Luke? Where are you?"

"I'm…" He glanced at Emma. Her pleased smirk was all he got in reply. "I'm okay. I got a touch sidetracked, I'll be back in New York in a couple hours."

"Sidetracked? Damn it" Kyle's irritation could be heard clearly. "So you were in the middle of that tussle."

"Well you know how it goes." Luke couldn't help but chuckle. "Walk into a gas station and see some thugs about to wreck a kid for being different, ask them to stop, they start threatening..."

"This is why we can't have nice things. Are you okay? Is the kid okay?"

"He's being taken care of."

"That's at least good to hear. So where are you?"

"He's occupied right now. Call back later?" Emma asked, darting in to the phone before Luke could stop her. Luke drew the phone out of her reach.

"Oh…" It might have been a whistle he heard on the other side. "Alrighty then, Luke. Glad to know you're working hard over there. Let me know when you get around to reporting in to Hill. I'm already starting to get headaches from that woman."

"Kyle." Luke scowled as Emma made another playful grab for the phone. "Long story. I promise I'll tell you everything that happened in full."

"Just spare me the details" Kyle said. "But… is that chick British?"

Luke ended the call. Tossing the phone on the bed, he shot a glare at Emma that had sent Army corporals scurrying for cover. It did not work so well on her. Winking saucily, she slipped out of bed and went to fetch her robe. The instant her robe was back on she reverted to business mode too.

"Give me a minute or two before you leave. I don't want us seen together."

A dry chuckle eased out of Luke's throat. He began climbing into his own clothes.

"Call me sometime?"

His tone was light and joking. Expecting a smile or something along those lines, he faced her and began pocketing his phone and other key items. The glare he received stopped him cold.

"This changes nothing" Emma said. It struck him as odd to see how quickly she changed between angry-bitch-mode and grinning-like-a-fool-mode. The woman was borderline bipolar. "Do not mistake this for more than it was."

"What was it then?"

She hesitated, eyes darting away to the door. Luke did not push for an answer. He strode past her and put his hand on the knob. Motioning for her to go, he started to turn it. Emma shot a hand out and stopped him.

"This was…" She refused to look him in the eye. "This was a one-time thing. You had something I wanted, and now it is over. Our lives go on, and I never have to see you again."

There was disgust in her voice, but it lacked any real conviction. Luke withheld his smile as she attempted a fierce scowl. Throwing the door open, she stormed out and let it hang behind her. He flicked the door with his hand and returned to the bed. The first thing he did was call Kyle.

"That was fast" Kyle said on picking up.

"Sorry about that. Do you have a minute?"

"Yep."

"Right, well here's the situation. It started in Middletown…"

**New York City, Manhattan**

Marti greeted him at the door. He was still wearing his shades, even though it was inside and the sun was clear of the windows.

"Was wondering when you'd get back. How was Salem?"

"Depends, should I be ducking for cover?"

The suit shrugged indifferently. He pointed to the kitchen, where a steaming carafe sat next to three mugs. Luke took the offer and grabbed himself a cup.

"Caught a wire on the SHIELD network from the Xavier Institute. Someone by the name of Scott Summers wanted to make sure you didn't have an ulterior motive for the visit."

"That was fair of him. What was the reply?"

"Oh, Hill assured him that you weren't there as part of some evil SHIELD plot, and that you would not be stopping by uninvited again."

Luke looked up from the coffee. "Bad?"

"I think your success in New Orleans mellowed her response a bit. In lieu of a direct report from you she had me send in all the operational data I had to some analysts. So far, you've got yourselves a glowing report."

"Huh, imagine that." He pushed off of the counter and followed Marti upstairs. "A glowing report you say?"

"Well, I might have spun it a bit in your favor." Marti stopped and held up a warning finger. "As far as we are concerned, you directed the assault on Don Marko to take out his bodyguard. The man, as I'm sure you found out, is a mutant. Jackov, goes by the name _Serkr_. Relatively low key, but he's got a mean streak and a habit of selling out his talents to the bad guys."

"Serkr." Luke rolled the word over in his mouth. "Viking, right?"

"From Berserker. I assume it has to do with his shapeshifting abilities."

"Viking berserkers related to bears." Luke let Marti take the main seat at the computer. "He went after me as a grizzly bear, then as a shark in the water."

"Two things I would never want to meet." Marti tipped his head. "I told Hill that you would call her around 1000. You've got an hour to freshen up… although you do smell quite nice. I take it you cleaned up at the Xavier Institute."

"Would have been a shame not to." Luke studied the screen. The collection of images, reports, and schematics were way over his head. "What are you working on?"

"This is a little project of mine that I've had on the side." Marti clicked a few keys and one particular image bloomed across the screen. It was a simple image: a shimmering, coal-black rock with all sorts of jagged angles and contours. "Voidstar fragments. SHIELD picks these up from time to time in meteorite debris. Best we can tell is that it is waste material spat out of a Black Hole. The material is too dense to crack, and its elemental signatures are all mixed and confused."

"In English?"

He gave Luke a funny look.

"In dumb-dumb English."

"Ah." Marti shook his head. "Voidstar is a completely new material. The elements keep lining up in incomplete fragments, and the leftover energy makes it change itself constantly. Simply put, it isn't a single material. It's a thousand different solids that are constantly switching."

"Black Hole rocks." Luke cocked his head to the side and examined it as the image started turning. He did not understand any of that. "What's your interest in it?"

"Purely theoretical." The man gave a wistful sigh. "If we had the tools to crack it, SHIELD would be all over implementing it into weapons tech. As I said, the material is impenetrably dense. Bullets, blades, anything made with this weapon would be unstoppable. A nifty tool for when SHIELD has to go up against supervillains. But we can't even scratch it. They've been trying since the Fifties. Me, I just fiddle with it and dream."

"Should you be doing that?" Luke patted his back. "We're pretty busy out here, Marti, and it's only going to get busier."

"I can afford it." He tapped the sides of his head. "That's my thing; got two minds in here. I can fully devote myself to two things at a time and not be slowed down in the slightest."

"That's… that's pretty damn useful."

"Tell me about it." A bit of a grin appeared on his face. "Not the most glorious of abilities, but hey, I like computers and this lets me enjoy them twice as much. For example, while I was helping you out with your little excursion in New York I was also coordinating between Agent Hill and Agent Saunders. Bet you didn't notice any time lag there."

"Marti, my estimation of you just went up." Luke grinned and patted the man on his shoulder. "I'm going to go prepare the report for Hill. Let me know if you need anything."

"Oh, there was one more thing."

The keyboard clacked madly as Marti switched two of the screens. A file-folder image rested on the top right corner of the screen, colored red to mark it as _Security Level Two_. He opened it, keyed in the password, and threw the contents across the screen.

"Now that we know to look for it, the Deck has started popping up on radars. This map holds all of the reported sightings or encounters with Deck operatives. Pretty low level stuff for now, but look at how far spread out that is. It's a real time image."

One of the files held a map of the United States. There were over twenty red dots scattered across the nation. Two he recognized: Blacksburg, VA and New Orleans, LA. Luke stared at the New Orleans one. _The men with the cards._

"What I can't figure out is this one." Marti highlighted the New Orleans dot. "Serkr might be Deck, I wouldn't put it above him, but I haven't been able to contact the man SHIELD knows down there. It's a rogue mutant, a mercenary if you will. Goes by the name Remy. Anyway, he passes information to SHIELD from time to time for a generous finder's fee."

"But he didn't tell SHIELD about Charlotte."

Marti shrugged. "He doesn't work for SHIELD. Probably didn't think it was our business. I've been trying to get a hold of him to see what he knows about the Deck."

"I know someone who might have more info." Luke turned away and headed out of the room.

"Who?"

"Charlotte." He stopped at the door, looking back one more time at the map. There were two dots in New York City. He studied the locations and filed them away for later. "She's had contact with them. Also, Marti, find out everything you can about those two. If they are operating here in the Big Apple, that's right on our doorstep. Might as well pay them a visit."

"Sounds like a plan."

_**Later that day**_

Hill was only slightly bothered by his incident over at the Xavier Institute. It was more of a side note in the debriefing. What drew her attention and the bulk of her inquiry was the operation down in Louisiana. Which made sense, considering one involved a brawl at a gas station and the other involved a joint-FBI assault on a privately owned yacht in the middle of the New Orleans bay. Luke had studied Marti's report beforehand to know what had and had not been said. He decided to stick with Marti's spiel, because it made for better reading than he could have done, and it made them sound a lot better than things had actually gone. He wasn't willing to lie about their actions, but in hindsight it had been a bit of a shoddy affair. A little bit of makeup never hurt.

He was glad he kept his comments accurate, if slightly incomplete. The impression Hill had formed based on Marti's data was scarily good. She knew where the reports were polished but she did not interrupt him. Luke took those subtle cues and always made sure to explain things that drew a frown or an eye twitch in detail. He spoke bluntly and clearly, and waited for feedback when he finished. When she had listened and digested his news she addressed him directly. There was no beating around the bush with this woman. Luke liked things better that way.

"You are doing well so far" she told him. "I know that your team is still in the works and you have to improvise quite a lot as you go. You are undermanned and underequipped for the job as is. All that considering, Director Fury and I are impressed with how you have handled the Specter team. Your missions have not been pretty, but that comes with experience. It's a whole new ballgame you are learning, and right now you're keeping the coaches happy."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"How is your recruitment going?"

"Well, actively we still only have myself, Agent Saunders, Agent Callahan and Sahara. Neal Morris is deployed with the Avengers B-team for training, we have a man in the Marines ready to sign on when his enlistment ends, and a third potential recruit is convalescent in the hospital. Agent Saunders and Sahara are with her. She should be out by the end of the week and will return to New York then. We'll continue her treatment here and assess if she is up for the job."

"It is proceeding then." Her face soured a touch, as if disappointed. "We were hoping you might have had some more progress, but at least you are on your way. These three recruits will double your team strength. That's better than nothing."

"With respect, ma'am." Luke braced himself in case she took offense. She did not. "Every time we've gone out to recruit we've ended up with a fight on our hands. We don't have superhuman healing factors or toughness like a lot of the heroes you are used to do. It takes time for us to recover, not to mention we have to put up with SHIELD paperwork as well. All that severely limits our response times."

"I know, and we are allowing for that. As I said, for what you have you are doing a lot. We aren't expecting miracles out of your team, and the progress you have made is commendable. There are… SHIELD is dealing with some heavy hitters right now." She sighed and rubbed her temples as if a headache had suddenly kicked in. "I apologize if I offended you. I am not questioning your abilities here. You are only one of a dozen branches of SHIELD that I am personally involved in, and you're the youngest by far. It is easy to forget that you have only been around for a couple months."

"Understood." Luke relaxed and shrugged. "I think I get where you're coming from."

She held up a dossier and offered it to Luke. He took it and flipped through.

"We've had a request to join your team. His name is Jeremy-"

"Fahlsing." Luke shut the dossier. "I know him. He's former CIA."

Hill made a face that told Luke he was not quite right. "He's always been with SHIELD. His time in the CIA was spent as an… asset."

"You infiltrated the CIA?" Luke huffed. "Don't you have open access to their network?"

"I am sure you understand the difference between sharing information and showing information." Hill dismissed the line of thought. "Are you interested in his offer? He's got plenty of experience with the inner workings of SHIELD, familiarity with our technical systems, and he's a hotshot field agent."

"Sure." Luke left the dossier on the counter. "As long as you aren't placing him here as an infiltrator. I'm open with you, and if I get the feeling that I can't trust my team then we're going to break down pretty fast. And I don't trust men who deal two ways."

"He won't be a stooge, if that's what you are asking." Hill offered a reassuring smile. "That's Marti's job."

"You- that's not funny."

"Sure it is. Learn to relax, Luke. If you don't this job will quickly become your own personal hell. The kind of work we do here, it isn't normal. People aren't designed to handle the things we face. It'll eat away at you soon enough unless you find a way to let it go."

"Is that how you do it?" He called out after her as she walked towards the door. "You get through this by playing your subordinates?"

"That's one way." She looked over her shoulder and grinned. "And it is by far the most entertaining."

The door slid shut behind her. Luke picked up the dossier and started reading through it again. He took a second look, a more serious look, this time. Jeremy Fahlsing, the CIA spook that had worked alongside their team in Afghanistan. He had been a shadow among shadows, always appearing out of the blue and knowing more than he should have. His intelligence had gotten them the mission against Holy Warrior. In the aftermath, he heard that Agent Fahlsing had gathered a team together and gone to town on the Taliban in… not revenge, Americans didn't do revenge. But he used his team to hunt down Taliban outside of the red tape and wreaked all kinds of havoc. His team took down multiple compounds and over a hundred Taliban in the course of three months. He also found the spies who had sold out the operation and made sure they wouldn't sell out the Americans again.

Having Fahlsing on his team could prove very helpful. He certainly knew what he was doing. The revelation that he was, and always had been, a SHIELD agent made him wonder though. Had he known that Luke was a mutant all along? Is that why he had always been the point of contact? The thought made him shake his head. Coincidence was a rapidly fading phenomenon in his world. If they had been keeping tabs on him, waiting until they could snatch him up, it made him feel very unappreciated. Made him feel like a tool, not a person.

"Marti!"

The voicebox in the kitchen squawked. "Yeah, boss?"

"I need you to look up something."

"Hold on… okay, shoot."

"Jeremy Fahlsing. And," Luke glanced at his laptop. "Send me everything that SHIELD has on me. And I mean _everything_."

"Got it, boss. I'll flash drive it so that it's not floating for SHIELD to pick up. Don't want to make them think your suspicious or anything."

"Do I have something to be suspicious of?"

"It's an Alphabet Soup Agency" Marti said. "If you're not suspicious you might as well kill yourself now."

_**Three days later**_

The others returned to New York City a day ahead of schedule. Charlotte was still stooped and weak, but she kept up a brave face as they introduced her to the loft. The posh furniture and spacious layout astounded her, as Luke thought it would. What drew her more immediate attention were the couches, which she plopped down on as soon as she could to rest her back. From that vantage point she lounged and drank in the sights around her. A contented smile formed on her face. Luke could imagine the thoughts running through her head.

"So big" was all she could say. When they pulled a drink from the refrigerator her eyes practically popped out of their sockets. "That is a… huge fridge. Could I fit in there? I think I'm in heaven."

"Not quite, but we've got a nice spread here." Luke handed her the Coke. She practically giggled with delight at the sight of a glass-bottle soda. Twisting the lid off with practiced ease, she began sipping as if afraid it would be gone too quickly. Her eyes began to wander again.

"I've never been up this high before" she muttered between sips. Pointing suddenly, she asked "Is that the Empire State Building?"

"Yeah."

She made a quiet noise that might have been a squeal of delight. "This is awesome. I'd joke that I could see my house from here…"

"You're in a lot better spirits than before." Luke sat down opposite her and looked at the others. Sahara had gone to the bathroom to clean off after the drive. Since Luke was the only one actually living in the loft, they had converted the spare bedroom into a storage room for the team members. Everyone had a go-bag in there, along with spare clothes, personal gear, toiletries, and whatever they thought they might need if an extended stay or rapid deployment came up on short notice.

"She's a mite more chipper, yes." Kyle remained standing. "Couldn't get her to shut up on the car ride."

"It's not my fault." She shot him a pouty look. "I'd been stuck in a hospital for a week, what did you expect? I hate lying around. I want to go do something!"

"I almost tranqed her" Kyle admitted. "She kept wanting to play with the car radio."

She beamed. "First time I ever got to touch an Ipod. Glorious."

"Good for you." Luke suppressed a laugh at Kyle's expense. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Her face lost its glee and she started toying with a pillow. A good portion of her enthusiasm vanished. "It's weird. Marko's gone, my sister is still dead, and I'm…well, safe for once." She looked up at him with earnest eyes. Luke felt a pang of warning in his gut. "Kyle and Sahara helped talk me through it. The shock of everything finally being done is hard to process. I've wanted Marko dead for so long that there's an emptiness now. I don't quite know what to do without that… that hate. He was why I lived. Now I don't really have a purpose."

Luke cleared his throat. She glanced up sharply, cheeks flushing a little. "They talked to you about working for us?"

"For the Specters." She chewed on her lip. It was a very kidsy gesture, one that was not lost on Luke as he shot a glance towards Kyle. His partner had a touch of tension on his face. He wished he knew what was making the man uneasy. With Charlotte's case, there could be a half-dozen different reasons. Pinpointing the correct one would help him guide this conversation. "We talked about it in the car. It's a good deal for me, I guess. I don't have anywhere to go and without you all I'd still be scrounging around the streets of New Orleans. I always hated that place. And the work you do, saving people like me. That's a good thing. Helping people is good."

She tucked her legs up against her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "But I don't know if it's for me."

"What do you mean?" Luke held up his hand to stall the answer. "We're not trying to force this on you. I am merely curious."

"I've only done bad things in my life." She stared at her feet. "Growing up on the street I stole, I fought, I hurt people, I… killed people." That last one made her flinch. "You're all good guys, you've grown up helping people. I don't belong."

"That's…" Luke thought better and changed what he would say. "Don't be hard on yourself, kid. You have a tough childhood and you did what you needed to. We aren't knights in shining armor."

Kyle coughed in mock indignation. It brought a faint smile to Charlotte, and she looked back up at him.

"Okay, well Kyle is, but I'm not. I've made bad decisions in life. I've killed lots of people."

"But you were in the Army. Kyle said you were. You fought bad guys like those bastards who bombed the Towers. Those kind of men deserve to die."

"Death is still death. It doesn't matter what kind of person is getting killed, it leaves scars." Luke moved over to sit down beside her. She did not pull away, but she did not move closer either. Brushing her hair back, Charlotte, watched him with that deer-in-headlights caution he had seen back in New Orleans.

"We're not asking you to be perfect. No one is, and that's the thing, kid. You join us and we'll take care of you. We can help you, we will work with you through everything. There's plenty of good in there. You just have to find it." He poked her lightly in the forehead. "Besides, if you were truly bad, you would leave Sahara to be the only female on the team. She has to deal with three guys all the time and that'd just be plain evil to make her endure that any longer."

Charlotte laughed and butted her shoulder against Luke. "After all she's done for me, that would be pretty evil, wouldn't it? Us girls have to stand together."

"Only the worst supervillainess would make a fellow woman endure such torture."

"Well, I can't have that." She made a face. "I don't have the laugh or the costume to be a supervil- Do we get costumes?"

Her face lit up expectantly and she sat bolt upright. Turning from one to the other, she clapped her hands.

"Do we? And can we pick cool names, because there's this one that I've always wanted to be known by and I would totally badass."

Sahara poked her head out from the bathroom. Her fur was wet and matted down as if she had just stepped out of the shower. Damn but that woman had good hearing. She eyed the young girl for a moment with something that amounted to disinterest. "Your kind's obsession with individuality and trademark is amusing. Though it speaks to the hubris of the human race that you must find these meaningless titles as something for boasting. You are like puppies at play, all silliness and little action. May the gods help you if you ever have to fight the Kree or the Shi'ar."

Luke tipped his head in acknowledgement. "That's a good name for you. Pup. What do you think, Kyle?"

Kyle spent a moment appraising Charlotte as if in deep thought. Her face went slack with horror and she shot the Marine a venomous glare.

"Don't you dare answer that."

Dismissing her ire with a casual bat of his eyelids, Kyle leaned back in his seat and spent a plong moment pretending to consider. When he finally nodded and spoke, he sounded just as serious as a scientist discovering a new element.

"Pup it is."

A mortified whine slipped from Charlotte's mouth. Her jaw dropped and she whirled on Sahara, eyes blazing with horror. "You horrible little… I take back what I said. Supervillainess it is, I'm out of here if my name is going to be something as ridiculous as Pup."

"An appropriate title for such an exuberant young girl." Sahara's fangs bared in the hint of a smile. She disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door with a firm hand. Before it closed she called out "And I hope you learn a feline form soon. Wet dog is the most horrible smell I have ever had the displeasure of encountering on your planet. I do not understand how your kind appreciates those foul creatures."

Charlotte fumed in her seat, glowering at the now-empty hallway. Both of the men looked away from her to hide their smiles, and Luke stole the opportunity to stand up and head for the counter.

"Where do you think you're going?" Charlotte demanded. Her tone made it clear that neither of them would have a clean exit.

He turned and offered his most innocent face. "Hey, at least we're not calling you Lassie."

_**Evening**_

Lucas breathed a sigh of relief as the others left. He collapsed on the couch and loosed the stress and exhaustion that he had been holding back. Melting into the cushions, he purged his mind and thought of nothing. The bliss of darkness was a welcome relief from the day's events.

"Long day?"

"Damn it, Kyle, I thought you left." Lucas opened one eye and shot his partner a glare. "This whole week has been nuts."

"It has. And you don't look any more rested than when you left New Orleans."

"Xavier's place didn't give me much time for that."

"Didn't it?" Kyle nodded knowingly. "Sure sounded like you had some good company over there."

"It wasn't as nice as it sounded." Luke rubbed his throat, remembering the claws on Logan. "Between almost getting skewered by an Edwards Scissorhands wannabe and getting mind-attacked at dinner, they didn't exactly give off a friendly vibe. Marti warned me that they weren't fans of SHIELD; he didn't warn me just how unfriendly they were."

"Not all of them were that way though." Kyle tossed him a cold beer. "You said you saw Doctor McCoy there. Haven't met him, but I heard SHIELD uses him from time to time for legal counsel and area expertise. And that British chick. Who was she? Don't tell me you banged a student there."

"God, no!" Luke felt his headache worsen. "No, she was a… she's the one that took a dip in my memories."

"Oh, so… make-up sex?"

"I really don't want to talk about this right now." Luke pressed the beer can against his forehead. "She's a teacher there, but not an X-Man, if that's what you're wondering."

His second-in-command slipped down on the couch opposite and sighed. Neither said anything for a minute. Luke just enjoyed the soothing chill of the beer can easing his headache.

"How's she doing?" Luke eyed Kyle. "Really, how's she doing?"

"Charlotte?" Kyle's face soured. "Honestly, not so good. That chipperness you saw here…wasn't in the car. I think it was because you were here."

"Is that going to be a problem?" Luke grimaced.

"No, I think that danger has passed. Being away from you for a few days, and having Sahara around, broke whatever attachment she was forming. She probably still likes you, just doesn't 'like' you."

"Okay. I can live with that." Luke breathed a sigh of relief. "Poor kid."

"Yeah. As far as how she's going though, this is going to take her some time to get over. She didn't sleep much on the car ride because she was having nightmares. Kept muttering about the men-"

"With the cards" Luke finished. Kyle hesitated, then nodded. "I've had Marti started looking into that."

"Think she had contact with the Deck?"

"At some point, somehow, yes." He finally cracked open his beer and started sipping. The headache was fading. "What's the state of our access to SHIELD specialists?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we should consider sending Charlotte to a psychiatrist if we can find a good one. Not even SHIELD necessarily, but someone who can help her get through this. That girl's got more damage than Hiroshima and we aren't nearly qualified to walk her through it all."

"Marti would know." He shrugged. "Can't think of any that really stand out."

"I'll add that to his list of things to do. Do you know about his power?"

"The two-minds thing? Yeah, I talked to him about it once."

"What do you think of it?"

"It's weird to wrap my mind around." He chuckled at his own joke. "But then again, what's normal with our kind? The fact that he can have two fully functioning minds going at once without any lag or distraction is one heck of a gift. Makes him twice as useful in support. Why are you asking?"

"I don't know. It's probably nothing." Luke stood and stretched. "Just something Hill said; I'm not sure if she was just screwing with me or telling the truth. She said his job is to spy on us for her. Like an Internal Affairs or something."

His partner did not reply immediately. Face scrunched in concentration, he scratched his jaw and followed Luke to the counter.

"Don't know. Regardless of whether it's true, as long as we do nothing that needs hiding, we have nothing to worry about. Besides, I wouldn't hold it against SHIELD if they kept a subtle hand on their own teams. SHIELD deals with all kinds of unnatural things; it would be negligent to not focus on internal oversight. One bad egg could unleash all kinds of chaos with the powers and gear we have access to."

"You're right." Luke shook his head. "I'm just tired and I need to get some rest."

"Right on, brother." Kyle tossed his empty can in the trash. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Hey, Kyle?"

"Chief?"

"Where are you staying at?" Luke frowned. "I know you can go for quite a while on your natural energy suction thing, but you've got to be racking out somewhere. Are you still seeing Jeanne?"

"No." Kyle shrugged. "She was only in town for a week. Got to spend some time with her then, but I've always been staying in my own loft. Not nearly as swanky as this one, but I don't spend so much time in there and it doesn't double as a base of operations either."

"Oh, right. Well then, have a good night."

"You too, Chief."

Luke retreated to the bedroom. He did not bother undressing. Falling against the bed with a giant sigh, he closed his eyes and let himself sink into unconsciousness.

**_New York City, Central Park_**

Irony was a factor that Luke had always found comfort in. Perhaps that is why he found himself completely relaxed on one of the many benches that decorated Strawberry Fields. He spent a moment people-watching the mobs of fans as they crowded around the John Lennon plaques. Half of them were foreigners, the other half were flower-power-wannabe cokeheads. Ridiculous.

His contact sidled up beside him and sat down. Neither made eye contact, not out of an attempt to be subtle, but because their attentions were on the people. Luke waited patiently for her to begin.

"Captain Saunders."

"Ma'am."

"Danvers." Her head shifted towards him. He faced her and shrugged. Her face was sharp and utterly serious. Brilliant blonde hair was tied up in a military-style bun that matched her quasi-civilian pea coat and suit pants. Reflective Aviator sunglasses covered her eyes. Whoever this was, she had her priorities figured out on business. It was a very intimidating outfit. "Major Danvers."

"Major Danvers then."

She cleared her throat and leaned back against the bench. She snuck a hand along the back of the bench and casually dropped a flash drive into his waiting hand. Luke caught it and tucked it in a pocket.

"That is the information you requested, everything SHIELD has on the Deck that isn't in the central databanks."

"Why is that, if I may ask?" He snuck a look at her face as she glanced away. Her bearing was extremely professional, extremely military. He recognized it well. What branch had she been before joining SHIELD?

"Despite the fact that SHIELD has one of the most advanced electronic security networks on the planet, there are certain things that we keep to the side just in case we ever get hacked."

"That a threat?"

"If it's not some evil superorganization, it's the Chinese. Or the Russians. Or any nation that wants to pick up on what we know. It pays to be prepared."

"Gotcha. Thanks for the info."

"One thing, Captain." She put a light hand on his shoulder to stall him from getting up. Curious, Luke glanced around to see if anyone was watching.

"What's up?"

"This Specter initiative, it's a pretty bold step by SHIELD. SHIELD has always done popular things, publicly. Eventually the Specters will become public. Once that happens… everything you've done and will do is going to be treated with the utmost scrutiny. You know what that means."

"Means we're supposed to play nice and walk a straight line" Luke muttered. He huffed. "And you know that doing so when we're up against superhumans is basically a non-option. Things go to hell in a handbasket in the time it takes Pinocchio to say 'Jiminy Cricket.' If you've read out past mission reports-"

"Are half-cocked showdowns the norm for the Specters then?" She returned her hand to her lap. "Because so far you have shown a remarkable tendency to get into fights you aren't ready for. Your New Orleans report states that you went in to get that Serkr cretin. But I have a feeling you didn't even know he existed when you set foot on the ship."

"Do you now?" Luke kept a straight face. "What makes you think that?"

"One of your team left in the hospital and you nearly killed. I sincerely doubt that a man as experienced as yourself would have been so trounced by someone you knew about. Especially by an animal shapeshifter; you took down the rogue mutant with hardly any effort." She tipped her sunglasses down and gave him a knowing leer. "You aren't the first team I've dealt with that fudges the mission reports. Whoever wrote that novel is talented, but I saw right through it."

"Good for you." Luke refused to let his irritation show. "We're still trying to get this initiative going, gathering team members, and establishing a solid information network. There's also that we are all relatively new at this stuff and facing an enemy that even SHIELD is just catching onto. Cut us some slack."

"Do you seriously think the American people will be so understanding?"

"You know what I think?" Luke fought the urge to growl. "Director Fury gave me the authority to run this program and I am doing the best with what we've got. It's a lot easier to make the Specters work without a backseat jockey questioning how I do my job. If you've read the reports, and if you're as good at spotting bullshit as you claim to be, then you know that I am the most capable man for the job. The situations we've run into are so balls-to-the-wall nutty that I may be the only reason we survived them. We're flying blind into a flak field every time we set foot outside the fence and we've only got half a team. All in all, we're doing a damn good job."

"I am not questioning your judgment or your competence" she assured him. "I am merely expressing hope that you are ready to handle the eventual publicity blitz that will hit you. It is going to be a very nasty business."

"Eventual" Luke emphasized. "Right now I am merely trying to get this team operational and running. The politics can come later."

She switched the topics without missing a beat. "As I am sure Agent Hill has told you, we do not think you are doing a bad job. If anything, you are making this working on the fly in a way we were not expecting. Your work is a credit to you."

"Then why the preaching?"

Her face soured. "Captain, when I was in the Air Force I was one of the best pilots they had. Then I went into the Space Program and was one of the best astronauts they had. Can you guess why I'm here sitting on a bench in Central Park talking to you when I could be up there?" She pointed dismissively to the sky. "Because I can tell you now, my planes gave me a lot less attitude than you do."

"Huh?"

She reached up and drew the sunglasses away. Tired blue eyes gazed at him for a long moment before she looked to the John Lennon plaque.

"_One thing you can't hide is when you're crippled inside_. He said that, Lennon, though I don't think he intended it the same way. My career in NASA couldn't have been any higher. I was a rated security captain, and even was among those who made first contact with an alien empire."

"The Shi'ar?"

"No, the _Kree_." She sighed quietly. "It was not a friendly meeting. We were attacked, I was captured, and I was… they changed me."

"They did?"

She slipped the leather gloves off of her hand and cracked her knuckles. "I'm not human anymore, Captain. Not completely. The Kree restructured my DNA as some kind of genetic experiment. Now I've got all kinds of superhuman abilities, but it came at a price. NASA dropped me like a bad egg when I returned. Quiet discharge, honorable for _services rendered_, and tried to get me sent to a government lab for testing. Their plan was to leave me in a cell for the rest of my life. Now I work for SHIELD, because they are the only ones who see my abilities as something worth using, not exploiting."

"You were top of the world" Luke muttered. "Must have hurt to drop so far. Queen of the world to a beggar on the streets?"

"Beggar might be a little overdramatic. SHIELD practically pleaded with me to come onboard. They've given me a great job with lots of perks, and from time to time I even get to pilot their toys. But the point is the same: I was let go by NASA because the directors didn't know how to handle the storm of publicity. Crap hit the fan and they ran with their tails tucked between their legs. And I was left hanging with the bill."

"Well, I can see why you treat this so seriously." Luke shook his head. "My apologies."

"You have nothing to apologize for." She returned her gloves. "Consider it a friendly piece of advice."

"Are we allowed to be friends in SHILED?" He cracked a smile. "I thought that agents had to be cool and collected and professional inside and outside their teams."

The Major returned the smile. She held out her hand and he shook it. "Well, you will probably be seeing me more often. You aren't the only big initiative that Director Fury is working on. He and Hill are, and will be for some time, too busy to have a direct handle on your team. I am your new handler."

"Handler." He let out a long breath. "Because that doesn't raise the hair on my neck. Hope you don't mind if I scoot away from you a bit." He inched away. She chuckled.

"Don't worry, I will be gentle."

"Uh huh." Luke stood up. He stretched his limbs for a moment, wincing as his arm sent a jolt of pain up through his shoulder. His arm was still stiff and sore from New Orleans. "Anything else, Major?"

"Nothing." She nodded. "Except that your little one, Neal Morris, is ready to join you whenever you want him. He has excelled with the B-Team and we're ready to let him go. Say the word and we'll transfer him over."

Luke thought about it for a short moment. "It'd be good to have a full team. Send him on over."


End file.
